The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has successfully completed a major intervention to restore stable power supply to communities in Ghana's Central Region. Through its Central Regional Office, the PURC facilitated the replacement of 10 damaged and overloaded transformers across several communities. This effort, carried out in collaboration with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), comes at an estimated cost of GH¢550,000.
The replacement of the faulty transformers has brought relief to approximately 61,004 customers who were severely affected by prolonged blackouts. Prior to the intervention, communities such as Gomoamaim, Saltpond Township, Anomabo, Ajumako-Bisease, Katakyiase, Saltpond-Kurankyekrom, Cape Coast-Social Welfare, Nyankumasi Ahenkro, Agona, and Ekumfi Edukuma experienced severe service disruptions. These outages lasted from nearly two months in Gomoamaim to a month in other areas.
Gomoamaim was among the hardest hit, with roughly 4,000 customers experiencing power cuts lasting nearly two months. In Saltpond Township, about 8,000 customers went without electricity for six weeks, while 7,500 customers in Anomabo suffered outages lasting up to a month. Similarly, over 5,800 customers in Ajumako-Bisease faced a month-long outage.
The widespread outages had a significant impact on local commerce, particularly electricity-dependent enterprises such as cold stores, drinking spots, barbershops, salons, and provision shops. Operators of these businesses reported significant financial losses due to wasted work hours, lost customers, increased operating costs, and spoiled perishable goods.
The PURC prioritized the intervention with ECG after identifying the crisis through consumer complaints, field monitoring, and resident engagements. The Commission recognized the urgent need to address the power outages and collaborated with ECG to implement the replacement of the faulty transformers.
The successful completion of this project is a testament to the importance of consumer feedback and regulatory oversight in ensuring reliable utility services. The PURC has urged the public to continue reporting service defects, emphasizing that such feedback remains essential to identifying system failures and triggering swift corrective action.
With the power supply restored, residents and businesses in the affected communities can now resume their activities without the disruptions caused by the outages. The PURC and ECG will continue to work together to ensure that the power supply remains stable and reliable, and that any future issues are addressed promptly.
Key points
- The PURC replaced 10 faulty transformers at an estimated cost of GH¢550,000.
- Approximately 61,004 customers were affected by the power outages in the Central Region.
- The intervention was carried out in collaboration with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
