Barely a month after the newly constructed 161Kv substation in the Berekum Municipality of the Brong Region was commissioned by GRIDCo and consumers were hooked onto it by NEDCo, the NEDCo end of the construction has suffered theft of copper cables.
Out of the 22 towers connecting the new 161Kv substation (owned by GRIDCo) to the 34Kv substation (owned by NEDCo) , copper grounds have been stolen from 16 towers. At a briefing with members of the Berekum Municipal Assembly including the Member of Parliament for Berekum East Constituency, Hon. Dr. Kwabena Twum Nuamah and the Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Kofi Adjei, the Corporate Communications Manager of NEDCo Mr. Maxwell Kotoka explained that the copper grounds are a protective device to ensure that the towers do not get electrically charged during thunder and lightening. According to him, in the absence of the grounds, the network is vunerable to thunder strikes, a situation that can lead to the loss of the insulators and even the entire network which will have dire consequences for the consuming public.
On a guided tour of the network, with Alrich24newsgh.com, among others saw the extent of the devastation caused by the thieves.
Meanwhile, a formal report has been made to local police who are investigating the matter.
The new substation supplies power to a wide scope of towns including Berekum, Wamfie, Wamanafo, Kyeremasu, Amaasu, Dormaa Ahenkro, Nkrankwanta, Adabokrom, Drobo, and their surroundings.
Story by Opamogo Paparichy (Rev) Berekum.
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