The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has stated that owing to some system challenges, Krobo and its environs in the Eastern Region will experience intermittent power supply between now until it is resolved.
According to the ECG, Tema Region, the major power outage is as a result of overload and faults in several transformers within both Yilo Krobo and Lower Manya Krobo Municipalities.
It follows “the activities of unscrupulous persons who transferred customers from a transformer with a phase-off problem to adjacent transformers.”
The overload borne by the transformers led to the damage of several of the transformers within communities in the Krobo enclave.
It thus described the transfer of power consumption from the phase-off transformers to active ones as “Unacceptable.”
Furthermore, the power company has decided to “shutdown the feeders at the Bulk Supply Point (BSP) directly feeding the communities”.
The decision follows the interruption in their services in the Krobo enclaves owing to threats issued by the youth which left the staff apprehensive.
According to them, the shutdown was meant to “protect our network, lives and properties of innocent costumers and the general public within the Lower Manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo communities.”
Both municipalities in effect have been thrown into darkness since Sunday, December 5, 2021, a situation which is negatively affecting businesses in the area.
To conclude, the statement hinted that to find lasting measures to the long over due issues between residents and ECG, authorities of the company have engaged traditional leaders to address it permanently most especially on insecurities that have driven them from the Somanya office.
Background
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has confirmed relocating to Juapong in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region for fear for its staff.
The move, according to the General Manager of the company (Tema Region), Engineer Emmanuel Akinie, was to prevent unfortunate incidents from occuring as a result of warnings issued to the ECG staff of the Somanya office to vacate the premises or face dire consequences.
The threats came from a youth group in Krobo land calling itself United Krobo Foundation after giving ECG a 21 days ultimate to move away from the Krobo land citing unsatisfied services.
It follows a violent demonstration that was staged in Yilo Krobo and Lower Manya Krobo municipalities on November 22, 2021 over installation of meters and its related challenges.
If it would be recalled ECG installed a new billing software, Customer Management System (CMS) which was to replace the decades-old billing system, Customer Billing Information System (CBIS).
According the power supplier, the “initial implementation challenges” between 2015 and 2016 “resulted in billing anomalies”.
The youth believe that the bills which have accumulated over the period have been incorporated into the newly installed meters in the communities, hence the protest against its implementation.
The demonstrators chanted songs such as “ECG away, prepaid away from the Krobo Land” holding placards, some of which read “VRA Krobo’s are fed up”, “No prepaid in Krobo land”, “No bill No prepaid”, “freedom from ECG”, “VRA we need light from you”, ECG must go we want VRA” among others.
On the back of these protestations with threats, the Engineer said “ECG is unable to continue full operations in the affected areas”, and thus motivated them to formally move from the Municipal.
