The Deputy Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Richard Gyan-Mensah (MP), has undertaken a working visit to the Obuasi GRIDCo and ECG substations following a devastating fire outbreak at the GRIDCo substation on May 21, 2025, which plunged Obuasi and surrounding communities, including New Edubiase, into darkness.
The visit, which followed the instructions by the Hon. Minister for Energy and Green Transition, was aimed at assessing the extent of damage caused by the fire and reviewing progress on ongoing restoration works.
Mr. Gyan-Mensah was accompanied by the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene; Member of Parliament for Obuasi West, Kweku Kwarteng; MCE for Obuasi Municipal, Faustilove Appiah Kanin; and MCE for Obuasi East, Kofi Adzowu.
The Deputy Minister observed that the fire had destroyed critical infrastructure including transformers, underground cables, and the control room.
Emergency response teams from both GRIDCo and ECG were said to be working tirelessly, and power had already been restored to parts of Obuasi, although load-shedding measures remain in place due to limited capacity.
According to the engineers, emergency restoration works are expected to be completed by July 3, 2025, which will allow for temporary full restoration of power. However, they emphasized the need for a complete rewiring and replacement of major components as a long-term solution.
A planned outage will be required when transferring load from the temporary system to the fully restored underground network, with prior notice of one to two days to affected communities. Alternative power lines will be activated to minimize disruptions during the process.
Hon. Gyan-Mensah reassured residents and stakeholders of the government’s commitment to ensuring a stable and reliable power supply. He emphasized that the Ministry is working closely with GRIDCo and ECG to meet the July 3 deadline.
He thanked the affected communities for their patience and cooperation and called on residents to protect ECG and GRIDCo infrastructure to prevent future occurrences.
