The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has hinted that last Thursday’s explosion at Appiatse, near Bogoso in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality of the Western Region, has left more than 30,000 residents in the Amenfi West, Amenfi East and Amenfi Central Districts without power supply.
The explosion, ECG said, completely destroyed a distribution substation comprising eight (8) High Tension (HT) Networks, six (6) High Tension poles including five (5) Low Voltage (LV) poles, and one transformer and its accessories.
This was disclosed by Mr Ebo Sagoe, District Manager of the ECG, when the Managing Director of the Company, Mr Kwame Agyemang-Budu, and his entourage visited the Appiatse site to assess the extent of damage and also commiserate with the bereft families.
He said the ECG would require over two million Ghana cedis to be used to replace burnt transformers, LV and High Voltage (HV) poles and re-install meters to the various houses after re-construction of the community and to fully restore power to the Appiatse community and its environs.
Reports from the site indicate that crews were removing meters from homes and disconnecting cables on LV poles but would be halted for the security agencies to complete their investigations.
Mr Agyemang-Budu at a media engagement in Takoradi told the iGOGHANA that immediately after the news about the explosion was made known to them, Management directed engineers from Enchi and Asankragwa to join the Bogoso team to isolate the system, ensure safety protocols and also restore power within 48 hours.
He asserted that the company was focused on restoring power to the Appiatse community and its adjourning communities in the Bogoso enclave and not how to collect bills or arrears from customers.
However, he expressed concern over the theft of meters and other equipment in that it was not fair for people not to think about safety and go there to steal, but they were there to ensure that they have more meters to restore power after the reconstruction.
Responding to a question about the cost the ECG had incurred due to the explosion, Mr Agyemang-Budu said the ECG was not concerned about the processes of accounting for the loss but the safety of the community which is paramount to them.
The ECG presented GHc100,000 to support the injured and bereft families of the disaster.
