|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By Samuel Asamoah
The Minister for Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor, has announced a major nationwide overhaul of Ghana’s electricity distribution network, with plans to replace more than 2,000 transformers to improve power stability and address persistent outages.
Speaking during an inspection of ongoing works in Tema and Accra, the Minister said the intervention forms part of an emergency response to years of underinvestment, aging infrastructure, and poor maintenance that have weakened the distribution system despite improvements in power generation.
According to him, many transformers currently in use are over two decades old and overloaded, contributing to unreliable supply in several parts of the country. He explained that the ongoing exercise, which spans both the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) operational areas, is aimed at replacing obsolete equipment with higher-capacity units to meet growing demand.
“This is a historic intervention. Never before have we attempted to inject over 2,000 transformers into the system,” the Minister noted, adding that the upgrades will not be like-for-like replacements but will involve installing more robust equipment to enhance capacity and resilience.
He acknowledged that while uninterrupted electricity supply cannot be guaranteed due to unforeseen incidents such as technical faults and accidents, efforts are being made to improve response times through system upgrades, including the introduction of alternative power routing to minimize outages.
The Minister appealed to the public to bear with temporary disruptions caused by the ongoing works, assuring that such inconveniences are necessary for long-term improvements. He disclosed that the Accra phase of the project is expected to be completed within days, after which works will move to Kumasi in May before extending to other regions nationwide.
Despite financial constraints, with ECG’s budget reportedly reduced from over GH¢9 billion in 2024 to about GH¢1.8 billion under the current administration, the Minister said resources are being strategically directed into critical infrastructure. He added that Cabinet has approved an increase in ECG’s allocation, tied to performance targets to improve revenue collection and operational efficiency.
Director of Engineering at ECG, Ing. Kwame Kpekpena, said the upgrades are already underway in key load centres, particularly in Tema and Accra, where demand has outpaced existing infrastructure.
He explained that in one of the project sites serving multiple communities, the current system—comprising two 20 MVA transformers and a 10 MVA mobile substation—will be replaced with two new 30 MVA transformers, increasing capacity from 50 MVA to at least 60 MVA, with room for further expansion.
The broader intervention, he noted, covers six substations, including five in Accra and Tema and one in Kumasi. A total of 12 power transformers are being installed under the current phase, alongside the nationwide rollout of over 2,000 distribution transformers.
Ing. Kpekpena said the initiative is expected to resolve challenges such as low voltage, overloading, and frequent outages, ultimately delivering a more stable and efficient power supply to consumers across the country.
The Ministry of Energy says the programme will be implemented in phases, beginning with a three-month emergency plan, followed by medium- and long-term interventions to ensure sustainable improvements across Ghana’s power distribution network.
