350,000 existing ECG customers to benefit from Pokuase BSP

About 350,000 existing customers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) will benefit from the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point (BSP) upon completion in May next year.

The project, which is 87 per cent complete, would hold 580 MVA and redistribute to the area and ensure steady power.

Residents of Kwabenya, Ofankor, Legon, Nsawam, and Anyah will heave a sigh of relief upon completion since there would be sufficient power supply to boost their business operations and domestic purposes.

The US$50 million project is being funded by the United States Government through its Agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

Two million US dollars has been spent on corporate social responsibility projects such as road construction and donations to health facilities within its catchment areas.

Mr Patrick Kwame Oppong, the BSP Project Manager, who briefed the media on Thursday during a project site visit, said a total of US$10 million had been spent on local sub contractors for undertaking some aspects of the project in compliance with the local content policy directives.

The Project is being executed by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), with Elecnor SA Ghana as the contractors and Surbana Jurong Group as the supervising engineers.

Mr Mateo Perez Camino, the Country Director of Elecnor SA Ghana, told the media that major works on the BSP were nearing completion including the Control Buildings for GRIDCo and the ECG, drainage systems, installation of transformers, fencing, gantries, Switchgears and storage yards.

Currently, he said, cables were being laid and some equipment commissioned.

He said the company had been complying with the environmental and COVID-19 safety protocols.

He informed that about 95 per cent of the workforce at the substation were Ghanaians, who were benefiting for knowledge transfer and would subsequently manage the facility when it is finally handed over to the government.

The Pokuase BSP, the fourth Bulk Supply Point in Accra, is designated as A4BSP, and its associated 33 kilovolt and 11 kilovolt interconnecting lines intended to address power supply challenges including frequent outages and low voltages, resulting from increased power demand in Accra and the surrounding communities.

The Project would also lead to a significant reduction in technical losses in the GRIDCo transmission system and the ECG power distribution, which would contribute to improving the financial viability of the utilities.

The Pokuase BSP is the first 330kV in Accra and the largest in the country when completed.

The Project will be developed under the existing 330kV Aboadze-Volta-Lome Transmission line at Pokuase.

The project started in April 2019 and expected to be completed on May 31, 2021.

Source: Business Ghana