Faulty GRIDCo transformer throws Sunyani into darkness
Parts of Sunyani and its adjoining communities have been plunged into darkness following a fault on one of the biggest transformers of the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) switch yard in Sunyani.
A statement from GRIDCo indicated that the fault occurred on its Transformer two (T2), the bigger transformer with a capacity of 33 megavolt ampere (MVA) at the Sunyani switch yard last Tuesday evening.
Businesses in the affected areas, particularly those that rely heavily on electricity for production, have come to a standstill, resulting in disruptions to commercial activities and losses for operators.
When the Daily Graphic visited the scene, engineers from GRIDCo were on site working to repair the damaged transformer.
No timeline
At a press conference in Sunyani yesterday, the Sunyani Area Manager of Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), Odoi Addo, said the company was still assessing the situation and could not give timelines as to when they were going to fix the problem.
He explained that the company had to run a series of tests to ascertain the level of damage and assess the situation, adding that with all those issues, they could not give timelines for the restoration of the transformer.
In the interim, GRIDCo, in collaboration with NEDCo, is actively working to redirect loads to the only 20 MVA transformer that also serves the Sunyani township.
In that regard, residents in Sunyani and its environs will endure intermittent power and load-shedding for some time, as the two companies are working to come out with a load-shedding timetable.
Mr Addo said the residents would have power for only eight hours per day, explaining that managing the load would help customers to enjoy bits and pieces of the power.
Critical institutions
He, however, explained that critical institutions such as Sunyani Teaching Hospital and Third Infantry Battalion, Liberation Barracks have had constant supply since yesterday.
Mr Addo said the transformer supplied the majority of power in Sunyani, "So as we speak, we only supply about 42 per cent capacity in Sunyani township".
He advised customers and consumers not to misuse the power, urging them to switch off the appliances when not in use.
"We should manage the little power that we have. So that if we see any reserve capacity, we can connect other people who are currently without supply," he said.
Incident
Narrating the incident, Mr Addo said the incident occurred around 4:00 p.m., when operators detected an unusual sound from the switch yard, accompanied by smoke and oil spillage around one of the transformers.
He said the operators immediately switched off the power supply to safeguard lives and property.
Mr Addo explained that a deeper technical assessment later revealed that one of the power transformers at the yard had developed a fault, making it unable to supply electricity to parts of Sunyani and surrounding communities.
Assessment
The Sunyani and Techiman acting Area Manager of GRIDCo, Etse Mawuli, said they started their assessment yesterday, soon after the incident and had worked throughout the night.
He said the company had planned to do a thorough assessment of the situation and fix it within the shortest possible time.
Mr Mawuli said the engineers would continue to work day and night to ensure the transformer was repaired without delay.
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