GRIDCo completes tower repairs on damaged Akwatia–New Obuasi Line, full restoration expected by April 20

The Ghana Grid Company Ltd. (GRIDCo) has finished rebuilding a key transmission tower. This tower is on the Akwatia–New Obuasi line in the Eastern region. It was damaged by illegal chainsaw activity in March.

Final work to restore full power flow will be done by Sunday, April 20, 2025. This includes conductor stringing.

On March 17, illegal chainsaw operators cut down a tall tree. The tree fell and hit a critical section of the 161kV transmission line. This line supplies power to Kumasi and parts of Ghana’s middle belt.

The outage has greatly affected power quality in Kumasi and nearby areas. GRIDCo engineers responded quickly but found extensive damage to the tower. Heavy-duty equipment was needed to access the site and rebuild it.

On April 17, GRIDCo confirmed that the new tower is complete. They expect to finish stringing new conductors by April 20, 2025. After that, power will be fully restored.

GRIDCo highlighted the dangers of illegal logging and mining activities. They noted that these operations often harm electricity transmission infrastructure across the country.

The company expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to residents in Kumasi and surrounding areas. GRIDCo apologized for the power challenges resulting from this incident.