The Northern Electricity Distribution Company Limited (NEDCo) has apologised to customers over the current decline in power supply across its operational areas especially in Tamale.
Mr Maxwell Kotoka, Communications Manager, NEDCo, who rendered the apology at a press briefing in Tamale to address the power supply situation, acknowledged the inconvenience caused to consumers and assured them that Management of the company was taking steps to resolve the situation.
Mr Kotoka explained that preliminary assessments showed that the challenges were not linked to power generation or transmission but were largely due to distribution issues within the network.
He said although the feeders remained reliable, the problems were localised and stemmed from undersized conductors, overloaded transformers and substations as well as interference by some consumers, which in certain cases, had led to transformer damage.
He said the company had undertaken a thorough diagnosis of the situation to inform appropriate interventions leading to the adoption of both short-term and medium- to long-term measures to improve power distribution.
He said in the short term, NEDCo had increased the number of fault response teams from one to three to ensure quicker response to power outages and customer complaints.
He added that working hours for the teams had also been extended to enhance efficiency.
Mr Kotoka said the company had also revamped its complaint lines (0308249525 and 0372096114/5) and strengthened its contact centres to make them more accessible and responsive to customers.
He added that some transformers were being installed as part of immediate efforts to stabilise power supply.
He said on medium- to long-term interventions, the company was set to receive 500 transformers from the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition to be injected into the system to address the situation.
He said the first tranche of the transformers was expected to arrive within the next two weeks.
Mr Kotoka said the company would embark on extensive stakeholder engagement and public education to discourage interference with the electricity network and warned that sanctions would be imposed on those who interfered with the electricity network.
He said NEDCo had already engaged key stakeholders including the Northern Regional Coordinating Council and the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly on the issue.
He added that plans were also underway to upgrade primary substations across NEDCo’s operational areas as part of efforts to ensure a more stable and reliable power supply.
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