The Divisional Chief of Okper in the Yilo Krobo Traditional Area of the Eastern Region, Nene Anyeenorgu Teye Agor IX, has expressed frustration over the current outage in the Yilo and Lower Manya Krobo Traditional Areas.
The disappointment of Nene Anyeenorgu Teye Agor IX follows what is believed to be an indefinite power shutdown in the area by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) since Wednesday, July 27, 2022, due to the resistance of some of its customers over the deployment of prepaid meters to the area.
PRO of the ECG, Tema Region, Miss Sakyiwaa Mensah has explained that the week-old power outage "was done based on safety reasons".
"The entire ECG network is interlinked. ECG was not sure of the integrity of the network and the extent of interference. Safety became a paramount issue and that necessitated the shutdown," she explained.
She added that "power would be restored soon as stakeholders meet to discuss and seek resolutions, especially for the safety of lives of ECG staff".
But the chief insisted that the interruption in power supply to the people is causing problems for the area.
"It's been over a week and our people are still living in darkness with businesses shutting down, crime on the rise, economic and social activities coming to a halt," noted the traditional leader.
According to him, though the people were made to believe that the outage was part of the routine maintenance by the Company, subsequent commentaries suggested deliberate attempts by the ECG to punish the people of Yilo Krobo.
Listing his frustrations over the development, Nene Agor said aside from the chiefs and people of the Yilo Krobo Traditional Area availing themselves for all stakeholder engagements and sensitization programmes on the impasse, the power distributor has also worked hand in hand with the Yilo Krobo Paramountcy in the execution and administration of their statutory mandate and responsibilities.
He wondered why the ECG took the drastic decision when it did not at any time complain to the traditional leaders of resistance by the residents during the exercise, emphasizing that the people of Yilo Krobo had supported the Company in the discharge of the prepaid installation exercise.
The divisional chief in reiterating that no member of the community had threatened or assaulted any ECG personnel said the Company has not made any reports of same.
"We want the ECG to know that the good people of Yilo Krobo have been very cooperative and law-abiding throughout the prepaid meter installation period
"We feel very disappointed, deceived, and saddened by the decision of the ECG to indefinitely shut down power in our communities when we have fully cooperated with the deployment of the meters in our area," he stated.
To him, the Company has the necessary powers to arrest and prosecute persons who obstruct their work rather than punishing the entire community.
He described the general effects of the power cut as "more harmful and costly to the county than one can imagine".
The traditional leader, therefore, appealed to the ECG and Ministry of Energy to reconsider their decision and restore power to Yilo Krobo.
The disappointment of Nene Anyeenorgu Teye Agor IX follows what is believed to be an indefinite power shutdown in the area by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) since Wednesday, July 27, 2022, due to the resistance of some of its customers over the deployment of prepaid meters to the area.
PRO of the ECG, Tema Region, Miss Sakyiwaa Mensah has explained that the week-old power outage "was done based on safety reasons".
"The entire ECG network is interlinked. ECG was not sure of the integrity of the network and the extent of interference. Safety became a paramount issue and that necessitated the shutdown," she explained.
She added that "power would be restored soon as stakeholders meet to discuss and seek resolutions, especially for the safety of lives of ECG staff".
But the chief insisted that the interruption in power supply to the people is causing problems for the area.
"It's been over a week and our people are still living in darkness with businesses shutting down, crime on the rise, economic and social activities coming to a halt," noted the traditional leader.
According to him, though the people were made to believe that the outage was part of the routine maintenance by the Company, subsequent commentaries suggested deliberate attempts by the ECG to punish the people of Yilo Krobo.
Listing his frustrations over the development, Nene Agor said aside from the chiefs and people of the Yilo Krobo Traditional Area availing themselves for all stakeholder engagements and sensitization programmes on the impasse, the power distributor has also worked hand in hand with the Yilo Krobo Paramountcy in the execution and administration of their statutory mandate and responsibilities.
He wondered why the ECG took the drastic decision when it did not at any time complain to the traditional leaders of resistance by the residents during the exercise, emphasizing that the people of Yilo Krobo had supported the Company in the discharge of the prepaid installation exercise.
The divisional chief in reiterating that no member of the community had threatened or assaulted any ECG personnel said the Company has not made any reports of same.
"We want the ECG to know that the good people of Yilo Krobo have been very cooperative and law-abiding throughout the prepaid meter installation period
"We feel very disappointed, deceived, and saddened by the decision of the ECG to indefinitely shut down power in our communities when we have fully cooperated with the deployment of the meters in our area," he stated.
To him, the Company has the necessary powers to arrest and prosecute persons who obstruct their work rather than punishing the entire community.
He described the general effects of the power cut as "more harmful and costly to the county than one can imagine".
The traditional leader, therefore, appealed to the ECG and Ministry of Energy to reconsider their decision and restore power to Yilo Krobo.
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