The Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) Ashanti Sub-Transmission Region has donated two high-voltage substation panels to the Electrical Engineering Laboratory of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The donation, which comprises a 33 kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) panel and an 11 kV air-insulated switchgear (AIS) panel sourced from Accra, forms part of ECG’s corporate social responsibility efforts to support engineering education and national capacity building in the energy sector.
General Manager of ECG Ashanti Sub-Transmission, Ing. Peter Kofi Fletcher, explained that the idea was born out of the fact that many electrical engineering students who report for industrial attachment lack hands-on familiarity with key substation equipment.
“We realised that while the students are strong in theory, they have limited exposure to live operational systems,” he noted. “We felt a responsibility, as industry leaders, to help close that gap and prepare them for the world of work.”
To ensure optimal use of the panels, Ing. Opoku Anane, in charge of protection and control at ECG, conducted hands-on training for the laboratory staff. The sessions equipped the students with practical knowledge to be transferred to students on substation operations, safety, and system protection.
Officials from the Electrical Engineering Department commended the ECG for the gesture and, on behalf of the dean, thanked them.
They described the donation as a timely intervention that would “significantly enhance students’ appreciation of power system operations” and deepen collaboration between academia and industry.
The Electricity Company of Ghana, in September last year, conducted a free but comprehensive maintenance work on a KNUST substation located on campus.
The substation saw its first-ever maintenance in over 40 years.
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