Some suspected thieves last Wednesday stole large electricity cables at the main Kumasi Substation of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)and this plunged half of the metropolis into darkness. The situation compelled the ECG to undertake an unscheduled emergency load-shedding exercise in Kumasi. Electricity has since been restored.
The thieves, who probably had deep knowledge of and technical expertise in electrical work, used a copper wire to create contact for two of the three lines on the pole, resulting in total blackout, and seized the opportunity to cut both hanging and underground cables.
Each of the three cables which were stolen from the substation at the Abinkyi Market area, behind the Light House Chapel, measured 12 meters.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Ashanti Regional Engineer of the ECG, Mr. Emmanuel Aldnie, told around 12.30 a.m. last Wednesday, the line tripped, culminating in an unscheduled power cuts.
He said initially it was presumed to be a fault, until it was detected that thieves had cut some of the hanging and the underground cables.
He appealed to the public to help the security agencies or the ECG with information on the whereabouts of those who orchestrated that crime.
Source: Daily Graphic