Electricity company of Ghana
Some unscrupulous persons are allegedly stealing transformers in Tema
ECG is incurring extra costs for replacing stolen items
Security deployed to deal with theft at ECG Station ‘H’
The Electricity Company of Ghana, Tema, is infuriated by deliberate attempts by some individuals to disrupt progress made in power supply by allegedly tampering with and stealing equipment.
According to the ECG, the act is hindering the constant supply of electricity to customers.
Regional Engineer, Ing. Emmanuel Appoe, disclosed this to Joy Business at a media engagement and visit to the company’s Station “H” at Tema Industrial area which serves as both Bulk Supply Point and a substation.
“We suspect a syndicate which continues to pull down transformers with the intention of stealing copper wire.”
“This is a huge challenge for us because our secondary substation population is getting to 4000 and we cannot be by the transformers all the time,” he said.
He cited an instance where about two weeks ago some miscreants went to Prampram around 4:30 am and switched off a transformer, resulting in a power outage in the area.
“Residents at the time thought it was a power outage from ECG. Later in the day, these persons came around with a car and told the residents their transformer was faulty and needed to be repaired”.
“The unsuspecting residents looked on as the miscreants made away with the transformer. Upon learning of the incident, we had to replace it to restore power,” Ing. Appoe narrated.
Aside from the security dangers, he noted the Electricity Company of Ghana is bearing the cost of replacing the stolen items to restore power to the communities translating to financial loss to the company.
Ing. Emmanuel Appoe appealed to media houses to help conscientize the public in safeguarding this equipment.
“We believe when we all put our shoulders to the wheel some suspects can be brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others,” he urged.
According to him, efforts are being made to collaborate with security agencies to help end the act.
Within the structures of Electricity Company of Ghana, Tema region goes as far as some parts of the Volta and Eastern regions.