The Overlord of the Chonke Traditional Area in the Oti Region, Dasebre Attamafuwuesi Kwame Bonja, has appealed to the government to urgently address the persistent power crisis in the region, warning that frequent outages are severely affecting businesses and livelihoods.
According to the traditional leader, the unreliable electricity supply is disrupting commercial activities and creating difficulties for residents who depend on power for their daily work and other essential activities.
Speaking at Dambai, Dasebre Bonja said power interruptions occurred more than 20 times a day in some areas, damaging electrical appliances and equipment.
He welcomed the government’s plan to connect deprived communities to the national grid but stressed that the existing challenges must first be addressed by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to ensure a reliable supply for both current and new customers.
The Chonke Overlord made the appeal during the sod-cutting ceremony for the GH¢300 million Big Push rural electrification project.
The initiative is expected to connect 90 communities across the nine districts and municipalities in the Oti Region to the national grid.
He also urged ECG to station its regional director permanently in the Oti Region to enable the company to respond more quickly to power-related emergencies and improve customer service.
Responding to the concerns, the Deputy Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Richard Gyan-Mensah, said the government would deploy an additional 2,000 distribution transformers, mini-grids, solar home systems and solar streetlights to improve power reliability in the region.
He further urged residents to protect electrical infrastructure from vandalism and illegal connections, comply with electrical safety guidelines and pay their electricity bills promptly after being connected to the national grid.
