The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is constructing a new power supply station to help stabilize and expand supply to Ho and its adjoining districts.

Located at Sokode Gbogame, the new power station would support communities in the Ho Municipality and the Ho West District, where industrial and commercial expansions are concentrated.

Michael Buabin, the Regional Engineer of the ECG, who announced this at a soiree for select media outlets in Ho, said the new station would operate two 220 MVA transformers and would network all outgoing circuits for a constant supply.

“Ho is developing very fast, and to improve upon reliable power supply, we are building a big power station at Sokode Gbogame,” he said.

The Sokode - Abutia - Akrofu quadrangle is a fast-developing industrial enclave with Zoomlion’s integrated plant among a complex of waste management and facilities, while several industries of varying outlooks continue to spring up and flourish.

He said the energy demands of the growing Regional capital received the needed attention, and that the Company worked to position itself as the source of reliable power supply for transformation.

He disclosed that similar power stations were being built at Golokuati and Ayoma to expand and constantly stabilize supplies in those corridors.

The Regional Engineer said its line of power transformers was being boosted, damage to lines and installations minimized, and more offices were being established in efforts to enhance customer experience, while “We chase to become the regional hub of excellence for transformation and customer care.”

Mr. Buabin said ECG’s outlook for 2023 was among others to ‘Know our customers,’ through contacts and emails to cement prompt service delivery and bring the Company closer to its avowed clients.

“2023 will see a full rollout of the Company’s Smart Meter service, where customers could reload credit from their mobile phones as existed in some parts of the country.”

The Volta Region has been selected host of this year’s independence day celebrations, and amidst the race to set up the Ho Municipality and its venue for the national parade, the Regional Electricity Company’s role is called to attention.

The engineer said preventive maintenance was being undertaken, and that the Company was working together with the bulk supplier, GRIDCO towards uninterrupted supply before, during, and after the event.

He said more than 2,000 streetlights were being installed or replaced throughout the Municipality for the independence day celebration, expected to be the largest national gathering in the Region ever.

He said the new 5,000-capacity stadium, the venue for the match pass, had been fitted with an enhanced 350 KVA transformer, and that the installation of two floodlights for the arena would soon be completed.

Mr. Buabin said the company also upheld its efforts to curb the losses, undertaking a clampdown on illegal connections, and replacing faulty meters.

Togbui Avudzega Ativui I, Regional Protection Manager and Chief of Dededo said the media as reliable partners should continue to support efforts to cut down losses, mostly due to illegal connections, adding that such caused an increase in general power costs.

He said that ECG’s policy to reward whistle-blowers on illegal connections, which attracts six percent of the theft, was still in operation, added that a whopping GHC33,000 was paid to a reporter of power theft in 2022, and appealed to media practitioners to be more vigilant.

Emmanuel Agbaxode, Chairman of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) in the Volta and Oti Regions, said the ECG and the media had committed to a working relationship that would promote the Region’s transformation.

He commended the Company for placing the media at the fore of its public outreach campaign and said the relationship would benefit practitioners in the areas of support, including capacity building.