Tamale in darkness following fire outbreak at GRIDCo station

A fire outbreak at the Ghana Grid Company's (GRIDCo) main distribution station in Tamale on Monday evening has plunged the entire Tamale metropolis and its environs in darkness.

The cause of the fire is unknown but officials said the blackout was because the 11.5 feeder breaker, located at the station at Choggu, a suburb of Tamale caught fire.

Officials have told Graphic Online that although the situation was under control, residents are likely to be in darkness for some days.

They have however introduced a load shedding mechanism to ensure that power was rationed in the metropolis until the problem was fully resolved.

The power outage affected commercial activities on Monday night as many were forced to go to bed early.

Others who could not stand the hot weather slept in the open.

A statement from the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) said: "NEDCo is currently having some challenges at the control room at Choggu, which has resulted in a total power outage in Tamale….effort is being made to fix the problem and restore supply".