A project to establish a sub-station to improve power supply to residents of the Berekum municipality and some districts in the Brong-Ahafo Region has stalled for more than two years because of litigation over compensation.
The project is being executed at a cost of $20 million and is intended to transmit 161 kilovolt (KV) power to the residents.
Initiated in 2014, the project was expected to be completed in December 2016 but delayed because of a litigation between the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) Limited and the affected people.
The company has, therefore, rescheduled the completion date of the project from December 2016 to July 2018 after securing funds to settle the affected people.
So far, compensation for 64 per cent of the affected people has been settled, while entitlements for the remaining 36 per cent are yet to be paid to pave way for the continuation of the project.
The residents, churches and institutions affected by the project have, on a number of occasions, pulled down some pylons erected by the contractor, causing disruptions and destruction to other works done by GRIDCo.
Beneficiary communities
The sub-station, located in Berekum, is expected to transmit power to towns such as Berekum, Dormaa, Sampa, Drobo, Wamfie, Nkrankwanta and their surrounding communities.
For some years now, residents of those communities have had to endure low voltage and it is expected that the new sub-station will help address the problem of low voltage and other power challenges.
Causes of low voltage
At a media briefing in Berekum, the Corporate Communications Manager of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), Mr Maxwell Kotoka, explained that the distance from the bulk supply point, currently in Sunyani, was far from Berekum and the other communities, leading to the low voltage.
He expressed worry over the situation and pledged the commitment of both GRIDCo and NEDCo to address the problem to satisfy customers and help generate more revenue.
He said about 70 per cent of the project had been executed, explaining that the transformers for the sub-station had been installed, while 100 pylons out of the 130 to be used had so far been erected.
Compensation
Mr Kotoka explained that before the project started, the company had budgeted $1.5 million as compensation, adding that when it started erecting the pylons, other people started showing up with documents to claim ownership of portions of land for their residential development.
He said the work was forcibly halted, as some residential developers, churches and institutions started pulling down some of the pylons erected, while others invoked curses to compel the company to add them to the list of beneficiaries.
He gave an assurance that cheques for the payment of compensation for the remaining 36 per cent affected residents were ready and would be presented to them soon.
Appeal
Mr Kotoka appealed to those who had not been paid compensation to exercise patience and allow the company to continue the work to address the power challenges in the area.
For his part, the Protection and Control Engineer of GRIDCo, Mr Joseph Narter, cautioned the public against power theft and appealed to utility customers to pay their bills regularly to help GRIDCo to get the necessary resources to deliver quality services.
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