General News of Monday, 14 September 2020

Source: 3news.com

GRIDCo undertakes works on Atiwa Forest Transmission Line to strengthen transmission

The CEO of GRIDCo, Jonathan Amoako-Baah visited Atiwa to inspect the progress of the works The CEO of GRIDCo, Jonathan Amoako-Baah visited Atiwa to inspect the progress of the works

The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has stepped up repair works on its Tafo-to-Akwatia transmission line, which traverses the thick parts of the Atiwa Forest in the Eastern Region.

The F2Q line, as it is called, is crucial to the stability of the transmission system, the power-producing firm said.

However, it has in recent times been experiencing faults, leading to brief and intermittent power outages in some parts of the country.

Having located the fault in the thick of the forest, Line Maintenance workers at GRIDCo are in the middle of completing the construction of a 14-Kilometer access road in order to transport materials and other equipment to the site and resolve the fault.

GRIDCo Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Amoako-Baah made an emergency visit to Atiwa last Thursday to inspect the progress of the works.

He was accompanied by GRIDCo Directors responsible for Southern Network Services, Engineering Planning and Human Resources.

Commenting afterwards, Mr. Amoako-Baah said: “Great progress is being made to permanently repair the fault in order to strengthen the transmission system and resolve the intermittent outages we have been experiencing these past weeks.

“I am encouraged by the dedication and resilience of our staff and the external vendors, who are working round the clock to get this done. Navigating the Atiwa Forest is a real challenge but we have put measures in place to expedite action on the project in order to ensure consistent and uninterrupted power supply in the country.”

Some parts of the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern and Northern regions, have been experiencing brief outages in the past two weeks due to the situation.

Apart from the instability on the F2Q line, the activities of some galamsey operators and the disruption to some of the lines by heavy duty trucks are all contributory factors.

GRIDCo says it is committed to resolving the challenges and restoring stability to the national grid.