The Billing and Revenue Protection Manager at the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), William Asare, has issued a strong caution to consumers, especially dry-season farmers in the Navrongo enclave within the Kassena-Nankana Municipality, against power theft.
According to him, some farmers have been illegally tapping power from service poles to their farmlands to operate mechanized boreholes.
“We have areas where people are engaged in farming, particularly pepper and tomato farming, and they require power at night to irrigate their farms. So when there is an outage, it affects their business, and they look for alternative means.”
“We have instances where people illegally hook wires onto power lines, increasing the load on transformers and causing fuses to blow. When this happens, they contract unauthorized individuals to restore power so they can continue their business. They attach long wires directly to the main lines on the poles to power their homes and facilities. This is illegal, and they do not pay for the electricity they consume,” he explained.
Speaking on the Daybreak Upper East show on A1 Radio, Mr. Asare addressed the recent electrocution of a young electrician in Navrongo who attempted to fix a power issue on a utility pole. He emphasized that such acts make it difficult for the company to provide reliable services to consumers. However, he clarified that the deceased was not a NEDCo staff member.
“For the record, that gentleman was neither a staff member of NEDCo nor a contractor working on our behalf. We have been educating our customers on the dangers of engaging unauthorized individuals to interfere with our network. Electricity is dangerous—even for those of us trained to handle it. The young man was not authorized, but our information indicates that power on that line was off when he climbed to work on it. Unfortunately, while he was still on the pole, power was restored, and he got electrocuted.”
“We have seen similar cases across our operational areas, particularly in Navrongo and its environs. There have been instances where people install unauthorized fuses, damaging transformers. We have engaged communities and stakeholders to help them understand that we are providing a service governed by rules. If you experience an outage and it is not being attended to, you can escalate the issue. However, hiring unauthorized individuals to interfere with our network is dangerous and costly. In some cases, people install fuses far above the transformer’s rating, causing severe damage. The cost of replacing these transformers is significant, and this situation is very concerning for us,” he said.
Mr. Asare added that NEDCo is working with community stakeholders in Navrongo to educate residents on measures to prevent power theft and unauthorized interference with the electricity network.
“Beyond general education, we are engaging key stakeholders, including chiefs and assembly members, because assembly members are agents of development. When transformers are damaged, it is often these leaders who step in on behalf of their communities to request power restoration. That is why we are directly engaging them to help spread awareness. We are also collaborating with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to intensify education so that communities understand that protecting electrical equipment is in their best interest. It is crucial to allow NEDCo staff to handle power-related issues professionally as they arise.”
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Samuel Adagom|Bolgatanga
