Let’s help ECG apprehend cable thieves

As the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), works non-stop to provide users with high-quality, dependable, and safe energy services, it is unfortunate that thieves in the community want to steal and destroy the equipment owned by the company.

The activities of these vandals pose a challenge for ECG to carry out its primary responsibility of providing en­ergy to residences, workplaces, schools, hospitals, communi­ties, and industries, among other places.

At a press briefing recently, ECG expressed concern about thieves taking metal covers from switchgears, leaving them vulnerable to explosions.

Electrical disconnect switch­es, fuses, and circuit breakers are components of switchgear, which is typically placed adja­cent to transformers and serves to isolate, control, and safe­guard electrical equipment.

The metal coverings, ac­cording to ECG, shield the switchgear from the weather and are essential to maintain­ing ECG’s operational integrity and public safety.

According to ECG, the thieves destroyed about 15 switchgear units, which re­sulted in one explosion near the airport. ECG had to pay GH¢150,000 to repair these stolen parts.

The areas that have been impacted the most are Osu, Airport Residential Area, Ridge, and Cantonments, however it is imperative that this vandalism be stopped right now to protect both people and ECG equip­ment.

When there is a power outage, there are significant negative effects on businesses, which result in significant finan­cial losses for people, organisa­tions, and the country at large.

The public must be watchful to assist in apprehending those who engage in such behaviour in order to safeguard ECG in­stallations in communities.

It is necessary to monitor the actions of scrap dealers because some of them just roam in town looking for scraps around landfills and other lo­cations in order to turn a quick profit by selling them for scrap metal.

The Spectator therefore urges everyone to be on the lookout and cooperate with ECG to apprehend the thieves as these crimes endanger pub­lic safety as well as operational effectiveness.