Power returns to Afram Plains after marine cable damage disrupts supply

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has restored electricity supply to the Afram Plains following a major outage caused by damage to a marine cable in the River Afram.

The disruption, which affected communities across the Donkorkrom District, occurred in the early hours of Monday, April 27, when the fault developed along a section of the cable running beneath the river.

The General Manager in charge of External Communications at ECG, Dr Charles Nii Ayiku Ayiku, said in a telephone interview that the damage was detected about 400 metres into the river.

“Our initial checks confirmed a serious fault on the marine cable, which made it very difficult to transmit power across the river,” he explained.

He noted that the fault resulted in a complete power cut to the district, prompting an urgent technical response.

According to Dr Ayiku, engineers were quickly mobilised to assess the situation, with a specialised cable test van dispatched from Accra to pinpoint the fault.

However, repair efforts were temporarily delayed when the vehicle became stuck in a swampy area while tracing the damaged section.

He commended the intervention of the District Chief Executive for Afram Plains South, Moses Tangbe, who assisted in resolving the challenge.

Dr Ayiku said engineers, with the support of local residents, used boats and community divers to retrieve sections of the submerged cable, enabling them to identify and repair the fault.

He added that, in the absence of specialised marine joints, the team improvised with standard cable joints and constructed a temporary wharf to protect the repaired section.

The ECG expressed appreciation to all personnel and community members involved in the restoration effort and apologised to customers for the inconvenience, confirming that power supply has now been fully restored.