Parts of the Ashanti region are expected to experience more power outages as the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Ghana Grid Company set out to commence critical transmission reinforcement projects in June this year.

The move is part of broader efforts to improve power supply in the region where transmission and distribution lines are witnessing high-energy demand.

Speaking at the government's accountability series on the energy sector on Monday, April 27, the Minister for Energy and Green Transitions, John Abdulai Jinapor, disclosed that the projects will include the upgrade of critical power infrastructure and transformer installation.

“If you take the Ridge area in Kumasi, we are completely changing the transformer at the primary distribution station and putting a bigger one to bolster the voltages. We are also going to work with GRIDCo; they are supposed to close a certain loop which will also bolster the system,” he said.

The exercise is expected to kick in after the 2026 World Cup, which will throw the region into what the minister describes as “minimum outages”.

“Why maybe some people couldn’t do it is that it will involve some minimum outages, but it has to be done. Sometimes when you do these things, it creates some inconvenience. But the cost of postponing it is what we are witnessing today,” he said.

Mr. Jinapor noted that despite the discomfort the exercise will bring, it is necessary to improve power reliability.

“When we have to take a decision and improve the system, even if it will cause some temporal discomfort, we have to do that. It’s a necessity. After the world cup we will do that exercise. We will go to Kumasi and explain to them and I am sure that they will appreciate and understand what we have done. So, we place priority on Kumasi."

The Minister further revealed that a critical component is being airlifted into the country by CENIT Energy Limited and is expected to arrive in Accra before being transported to Kumasi to strengthen the generation network.

Meanwhile, Arvensis Energy Private Limited, an Indian firm, is expected to begin the upgrade of the line from Ridge BSP through Kaase Substation to the Electricity Company of Ghana's Boadi Substation.

The Kumasi Line Upgrade Project involves the upgrading of the 33 kV transmission line from 265mm² conductors to 400mm² conductors from Boadi through Kaase to Ridge.

The project aims to strengthen the lines to enable them to transmit a greater amount of power

“Kumasi has a peculiar issue. The network is very bad. This work Arvensis is supposed to do should have ended in 2023, but it dragged on. We had to do some investigations. We have a road and a green light with ECG to do that loop. It will bolster the transmission system,” Mr. Jinapor noted.

On reshuffling leadership at the Ashanti regional unit of ECG, Mr. Jinapor refuted claims of political undertones as he explained the move is aimed at ensuring operational efficiency.