Parts of the Greater Accra Region will be without electricity for 15 hours today (Sunday, August 16, 2026) as the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) carries out emergency repairs on a damaged transmission tower at Ashaiman.

The planned interruption, scheduled from 3:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., is to enable GRIDCo engineers to safely replace the damaged tower on the 161kV Tema–Achimota transmission line.

In a statement issued on Saturday, August 15, GRIDCo said the tower, located at Ashaiman Middle East, was damaged after a fuel tanker exploded while welding work was being carried out on its tank within the Right-of-Way (RoW) of the transmission line.

The company said the emergency works were necessary to restore the structural integrity of the tower and ensure the continued reliability of the transmission line.

GRIDCo apologised to customers who would be affected by the outage and appealed to them to exercise patience and cooperate with the restoration exercise.

The incident has also renewed GRIDCo’s concerns about unauthorised activities within transmission line corridors.

The company said activities carried out within the Right-of-Way could endanger lives, damage critical infrastructure and undermine the reliability of the country’s power transmission network.

It cited the Transmission Line Protection Regulations, 1967 (L.I. 542), as amended by L.I. 1737 of 2004, which restrict activities within protected transmission corridors.

Among the prohibited activities are unauthorised construction, excavation and drilling, as well as the operation of shops, garages, lorry parks and other commercial activities that could interfere with transmission infrastructure.

GRIDCo also referred to a directive issued by the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, directing persons, businesses, land users and other entities occupying transmission line Rights-of-Way unlawfully to stop such activities and vacate the affected areas within one month.

The directive covers structures and commercial activities, including heavy vehicle parking, welding and excavation within protected transmission corridors.

GRIDCo said that after the one-month compliance period, it would work with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, statutory institutions and security agencies to enforce the directive.

Unauthorised structures and activities within the affected corridors could consequently be removed, while persons who fail to comply could face enforcement action under the law.

The company urged traditional authorities, landowners, businesses, local authorities and members of the public to help keep transmission corridors free from encroachment.

It stressed that the Rights-of-Way were protected infrastructure zones and were not intended for unrestricted occupation or commercial activities.