Load shedding in Tamale following fire at GRIDCo station

The power distribution company for Northern Ghana has announced a temporary load-shedding management programme to enable consumers of electricity in the Tamale metropolis and its environs to have power.

The measure followed a total blackout that hit the Tamale metropolis and its environs last Monday evening.

It followed a fire outbreak that occurred at the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) transmission and distribution station at Choggu, a suburb of Tamale, that affected electricity supply in the metropolis.

As of the time of filing this report at 4 p.m. yesterday, power was yet to be restored to domestic and some commercial consumers of electricity in the metropolis.

The power outage did not affect certain critical installations, including the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) supply station and the Tamale Airport.

Read also: Tamale in darkness following fire outbreak at GRIDCo station

Press conference

Addressing the media in Tamale yesterday, the Corporate Affairs Manager of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), Mr Maxwell Kotoka, said NEDCo had to resort to a limited load management to meet the needs of clients.

As part of the short-term measure, he said, electricity supply to Nyankpala would be reversed from the Nyankpala sub-station to serve some parts of the Tamale metropolies.

He said temporary replacement equipment had been sought to replace the damaged equipment.

Background

Last Monday, fire gutted the GRIDCo station in Tamale, causing damage to 11 feeder breakers that supplied power to all domestic and small-scale businesses and the entire control room.