Several communities in Tarkwa, Damang, Chirano, Edikan, and Wassa, already reeling from the impacts and pressures of illegal mining, are now under threat as critical gas pipelines in the areas are endangered.
This imminent threat looms over the country’s energy sector, as galamsey activities encroaching near gas pipelines in the Western and Ashanti regions could compromise their safety and functionality.
Genser Energy has identified at least 15 high-risk zones where illegal miners are cutting communication cables and threatening pipelines that supply households, industries, and thermal power plants.
Genser supplies gas to critical thermal plants nationwide, including the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant.
This encroachment comes at a time when Ghana is already struggling to meet its daily peak gas demand, a situation that could escalate into severe nationwide power shortages if supplies are disrupted.
Genser warns that tampering with or rupturing the pipelines could trigger catastrophic explosions, potentially devastating entire communities in their path.
Vice President of Operations at Genser Energy, Henry Abeiku Oppong, disclosed that the threat was uncovered by monitoring teams in galamsey-prone corridors.
To avert disaster, the company has intensified daily monitoring with drones, recruited local youth to patrol pipeline routes, and engaged communities on the dangers of mining near gas lines.
Source: Clinton Yeboah
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