The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has issued a 30-day ultimatum to residents and businesses occupying sections of its high-voltage transmission corridor at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region.
The company says the directive is necessary to remove structures and activities within its transmission Right of Way (RoW), which must remain accessible to protect both electricity infrastructure and people living or working around the lines.
The affected occupants include traders, artisans, residents and drivers who have established various businesses and activities within the restricted area.
GRIDCo’s Director of Land Management, Engineer Bismark Anane, explained that keeping the corridor unobstructed was critical to the company’s ability to maintain and repair its transmission network.
“We need a corridor that is free of any encumbrances or what we call encroachment. This is to protect the infrastructure and also to ensure public safety,” he said.
According to him, unrestricted access becomes particularly important when unexpected faults occur on the transmission network.
“If there is a snap, or a conductor falls, we need immediate access to the transmission infrastructure to be able to repair it, to restore electricity,” he added.
GRIDCo has previously undertaken sensitisation activities to educate communities about the dangers associated with occupying transmission corridors. The company says, however, that encroachment remains a persistent problem in parts of the country.
At Ejisu, some of the affected occupants have acknowledged the safety concerns but are appealing for alternative locations before they are forced to leave.
They say losing their shops, workshops and other places of work without an alternative could have serious consequences for their livelihoods.
GRIDCo maintains that where its projects directly affect legitimate residences or livelihoods, affected persons may qualify for compensation following verification.
Engineer Anane said the company uses an enumeration exercise to identify persons whose properties or livelihoods are genuinely affected by its projects.
“Once it is verified that the project will impact either your livelihood or place of residence, GRIDCo will take measures to compensate the affected person,” he said.
The company is therefore urging all persons within the Ejisu transmission corridor to use the 30-day period to make the necessary arrangements and vacate the Right of Way.
GRIDCo says the exercise is aimed not only at protecting its critical transmission infrastructure but also at reducing the safety risks associated with human activities around high-voltage electricity lines.
