By Jones Anlimah
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has raised grave concern over the persistent destruction of electricity poles in the Volta and Oti Regions caused by bushfires.
At a Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) public hearing on submitted utility tariff proposals for the 2025-2029 Multi-Year Tariff Review Period, held in Ho, the Volta and Oti Regional General Manager of ECG, Ms. Christina Jatoe-Kaleo, said the menace was draining the company’s limited resources and undermining the reliability of power supply to communities and businesses.
“Bushfires are really costing us a lot,” she explained. “A single HT pole is about 8,000 cedis. Multiply that by more than 300 burnt poles, and you can imagine the financial burden. Beyond the cost of the poles, we also spend on transportation and installation, while affected communities remain without power for days. Cold stores lose their goods, businesses grind to a halt, and the entire economy suffers.”
She attributed most of the bushfires to human activities such as farmers clearing land, hunters setting traps, and herdsmen burning grass to regenerate pasture for cattle. She appealed to chiefs and opinion leaders to help curb the practice, saying, “We need these resources to extend power to new communities and improve existing services, not to go back replacing what we already have.”
Reinforcing the concern, Madam Nana Yaa Jantuah, a Board Member and Chairperson, Stakeholder Committee of PURC, disclosed that ECG lossing over GH¢560,000 to bushfires is very dangerous.
“This is not just an ECG problem, it is a national development issue,” she noted. “When poles are destroyed, electricity supply is interrupted, industries suffer, and unserved energy becomes a cost that consumers eventually bear. The PURC will intensify monitoring and, where necessary, apply sanctions to safeguard consumers’ interest.”
She called for a concerted community effort to stop bushfires, stressing that tariff adjustments would only make sense if matched with accountability and improved service.
