Ghanaians, especially rural residents, have been cautioned against igniting fires in the bush, particularly during the dry season.
The caution was issued by authorities of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) who emphasize the potentially devastating consequences of these fires, warning that they have the potential to escalate into disasters.
Additionally, the ECG authorities indicated that these fire incidents affect their operations since they often destroy poles that help in providing electricity to communities.
This, according to the power distribution company, results in unstable power supply, and increasing the cost of maintenance.
During a media engagement in Ho, the General Manager of ECG in the Volta/Oti Regions, Christina Jatoe- Kaleo explained that the unfortunate incident has cost ECG and the state huge sums of money.
She indicated that ten electricity poles were burnt between December 2023 and 10th January 2024 in her jurisdiction, which would cost her outfit about GHS 70,000 to replace the affected poles.
“Some of the communities that do not have power, or they have but people have extended to new sites and they are requesting for us to extend services to them. These poles that should have been used to extend services to them have to be used to replace what have been destroyed by the bushfires”, she lamented.
She mentioned that ECG has implemented certain measures to reduce the impact of bushfires. These measures include clearing trees along ECG transmission lines, establishing fire belts around the poles, and using fire-retardant paint. Additionally, in areas prone to fires, ECG is replacing wooden poles with metallic ones.
She also entreated community members to be watchdogs and ensure the protection of the installations of ECG and also act as ambassadors to preach against bushfires.