Copper cables on towers belonging to the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) have been stolen in the Berekum municipality of the Bono Region.
The towers connect to the new sub-station in Berekum which supplies power to Dormaa, Drobo, Sampa, Wamfie, Wamanafo, and other surrounding communities.
The Corporate Communications Manager of NEDCO, Maxwell Kotoka, in an interview with Citi News said the development is frustrating.
“Some copper cables belonging to us have been cut and taken away from a number of our towers between the new 161Kv sub-station and the 34Kv sub-station for distribution all in Berekum. In all, there are 22 towers and the copper cables have been stolen from 16 of the towers. The copper is not energized, they protect the towers from thunder and lightning,” Mr. Kotoka explained.
He said the theft of the cables could affect power distribution in the area.
“What we have done is that we have reported the incident to the police. We have done some engagements with the assembly, the political leadership of the area, stakeholders on the importance of each person helping in protecting the equipment and accessories,” he added.
Mr. Kotoko said NEDCO has taken steps to engage a contractor to have the stolen cables replace.
“We want to caution that we cannot continue replacing them as they get stolen and so we are urging everybody to be on the lookout for unscrupulous people who engage in the habit of stealing. We are also in collaboration with the driver unions to help us track such persons,” Mr. Kotoka noted.
GRIDCo transmission tower collapses; company suspects vandalism
Last week, one of the transmission towers near the Head office of Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) at Tema fell over into another tower.
Officials of the GRIDCo discovered the fallen tower noting that the bolts holding the pylon had been loosened causing it to fall over.
At the time, GRIDCo strongly suspected the collapsing of the pylon at Tema was an act of vandalism and not an attempted theft.
The Director of Systems Operations, Mark Baah told Citi News that: “The tower was actually vandalised. It wasn’t like somebody went to steal but we could see that bolts and nuts have been deliberately cut.”
“The control centre noticed that there was a fault on the transmission line so when it happened, immediately some customers went off, not only in Accra and Tema but as far as Kumasi. They tried to restore the power and they realized that it was a permanent fault,” he narrated.
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From: Michael Sarpong Mfum | citinewsroom.com | Ghana