By Florence Afriyie Mensah, GNA
Kumasi, Nov. 03, GNA – The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has pledged to complete a fifth feeder in Kumasi by the end of December 2026 to enhance electricity supply in the metropolis and surrounding communities.
The intervention is expected to ease pressure on the four existing feeders and improve the reliability of power supply for households and businesses in Kumasi and its environs.
“We are working to add a fifth feeder. This would add to the transformer and increase the capacity to serve demand. And we anticipate that the work would be done by December,” Mr Frank Asirifi Otchere, Chief Executive Officer of GRIDCo explained.
Mr Otchere gave the assurance during a site visit by officials of GRIDCo, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, to assess progress on ongoing projects and the condition of transformers at transmission stations.
At the Ridge Substation, the team inspected work on the installation of a new high-capacity transformer aimed at meeting the growing demand for electricity in the region.
The installation of the 145MVA transformer has necessitated the construction of a new feeder, which is expected to add about 80 megawatts of power to the Kumasi supply network.
At Anwomaso, the delegation observed the steady progress of work on the upgrade of the 161kV transmission line from Anwomaso to Ahodwo, where engineers are currently stringing conductors on 60 transmission towers.
Mr Otchere explained that increasing the capacity of the transmission lines linking Anwomaso and Ridge would allow more power to flow through the system.
He said the existing line had a capacity of about 364 megawatts, but due to rising demand, engineers were upgrading it to a capacity of 1,000 megawatts.
According to him, the contractor had completed the decommissioning of old towers and conductors and had erected new towers, with conductor stringing now constituting the final phase of the project.
Mr Ebenezer Ghunney, Director of Operations at ECG, explained that although the installation of the new transformer would significantly improve supply, it would not completely eliminate power outages, as faults could still occur within the network.
Officials indicated that the ongoing power infrastructure upgrades could result in intermittent and localised power interruptions over a one-month period, describing the inconvenience as necessary to improve the reliability of electricity supply in the Ashanti region.
Dr Amoakohene assured consumers that timely and effective communication would be provided regarding planned outages to minimise disruptions.
He said a joint team comprising GRIDCo, ECG, the Regional Coordinating Council and the Information Services Department was being formed to provide real-time updates to the public on planned outages.
GNA
Edited by Kwabia Owusu-Mensah/Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Florence Afriyie Mensah
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