Members of the maintenance team checking one of the transformers
The Electricity Company of Ghana, Accra West region, has intensified compliance with the Company’s Annual Maintenance Plan (AMP), as it strives to improve on services for customer satisfaction.
The AMP is a strategic document that outlines specific maintenance activities to be carried out on the Company’s electrical network.
Activities under the AMP include monitoring and maintenance of overhead conductors, underground cables and substation equipment like transformers and switchgears (extensible switches, ring main unit etc.).
To engender regular compliance with the AMP, the Accra West region has outlined strategies including night monitoring and deployment of more teams, to augment the already stretched technical maintenance team that works during the day.
Speaking during a planned maintenance visit to the “A201” substation at Mama’s Inn, Dansoman, the Accra West Regional Engineer, Emmanuel Ankrah, said the objectives of the AMP makes it mandatory for the maintenance team to visit all technical equipment at least once a every quarter, during which they do routine inspections, undertake planned maintenance exercises and correct any identified defects.
He added that due to the recent heat wave, ECG has recorded an increased demand for more electricity in some communities, especially during peak load hours.
“Our data shows that the electricity demand in some communities during peak load hours is up to the full capacity of their installed transformers, leading to faults and outages. These transformers have been earmarked for upgrade or injections to relieve some load and ensure more reliable supply,” he said.
The General Manager for the Accra West region, Emmanuel Akinie, assured customers of the region’s readiness to ensure that electricity distribution is not curtailed by localised faults.
He noted that fault teams have been stationed at vantage points to respond quickly to customer complaints, rectify faults and restore supply, at anytime during the day, across all operational districts in the region.
Outlining some advantages of a strict compliance with the AMP schedule, Ing. Akinie said the frequency of localized faults leading to outages will be reduced, while the lifespan of technical equipment will be prolonged.
Also, the Company gets to know and monitor the load on each distribution transformer especially during peak hours of the day.
The Accra West region has a total of 2,802 distribution transformers, made up of 2,030 pole mounted transformers and 772 ground mounted transformers.
The Accra West region has eight operational districts. These are Ablekuma, Achimota, Amasaman, Bortianor, Dansoman, Kaneshie, Korlebu and Nsawam.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak