ECG disconnects power to Gomoa Potsin after staff member is attacked

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has disconnected power to Gomoa Potsin in the Central Region, leaving a large section of the community without electricity for three days.

The disconnection followed an altercation between members of a household and an ECG monitoring team during an inspection exercise.

According to reports, the ECG team had identified a faulty meter when the incident occurred, resulting in an ECG staff member sustaining injuries.

Following the incident, ECG cut power to the affected area.

The prolonged outage has disrupted businesses and livelihoods, with residents appealing to the company to restore electricity while condemning the attack on its staff.

A resident, Nana Yaw, who operates a drinking spot and sells ice cream, said the outage had resulted in significant losses.

“I operate a drinking spot and sell ice cream. People are not buying because the drinks are not cold. The stock ice cream I had has also gone bad. Most potential customers also think I am not operating because of the darkness,” he said.

He added that the lack of electricity had also created security concerns in the community.

“We do not condone violence and so we’re appealing to ECG to reconnect us to the grid. Those of us living at New Site are really suffering. Thieves took advantage of the darkness to break into one of my apartments to steal cables,” Nana Yaw said.

Chop bar operator Elizabeth Kpodo also said the outage was affecting her income.

Cold store operator Azara said she had been forced to rely on a standby generator after some of her stock went bad.

“I sell meat and drinks and so I had to get a standby generator after some of the meat got rotten. We have been off for three days now,” she said.

Assemblyman for the Potsin Electoral Area, Ebenezer Adams, said the situation was putting livelihoods at risk and appealed to ECG to reconnect the community.

He also pledged to assist authorities in apprehending the individual who allegedly attacked the ECG staff member.

Mr Adams apologised to ECG on behalf of the community and appealed to the company to restore power.

“We render an unqualified apology to them. They should temper justice with mercy and come and reconnect us to the national grid,” he said.