The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has given individuals and businesses operating within electricity transmission rights-of-way one month to vacate or face forced removal.
The sector minister, Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, issued the warning last Thursday during an inspection of a damaged Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) transmission tower at Ashaiman Middle East, following an incident involving a tanker that exploded while welding activities were reportedly being carried out by artisans.
The incident occurred on July 10 around 3 p.m. when a tanker being welded exploded, with its parts striking the transmission tower and compromising its structural integrity.
The affected tower was carrying two critical transmission lines from GRIDCo’s Volta Substation in Tema to the Achimota Substation in Accra.
The lines supply a significant portion of Accra’s electricity.
GRIDCo said the damage weakened the tower and created a risk of collapse, which could have affected neighbouring towers and caused a major disruption to power supply.
One-month ultimatum
Dr Jinapor said the incident highlighted the dangers associated with illegal activities within transmission line rights-of-way.
He stressed that people were not permitted to construct structures or conduct activities under high-voltage transmission pylons because doing so endangered the infrastructure, workers and the general public.
The minister said the government had repeatedly appealed to occupants to leave voluntarily but warned that stronger enforcement measures would now follow.
He announced that all persons occupying areas under transmission pylons, around transformer installations and other critical energy infrastructure would have one month to evacuate.
He said that after the deadline, the government would collaborate with the police, military, National Security and local assemblies to forcibly remove those who remained.
He stressed that the directive applied nationwide and not only to the location of the damaged tower.
The Chief Executive of GRIDCo, Frank Otchere, similarly urged the public to respect GRIDCo’s transmission line rights-of-way, stressing that the high-voltage infrastructure remained extremely dangerous.
He said the incident should serve as a warning that activities carried out too close to transmission infrastructure could have serious consequences for both public safety and electricity supply.
He explained that the company initially expected the replacement to take two days but was seeking to complete the work within 12 hours.
Mr Otchere cautioned that the work could temporarily affect electricity supply to some parts of Accra because the affected lines served critical loads.
He, however, indicated that GRIDCo was conducting simulations to minimise the impact and would announce the areas likely to experience interruptions as a result of the repair works.
