By Daniel Donkor
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has begun an incident monitoring exercise at the Sunyani operational areas of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) and the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), following a major power outage that disrupted life and economic activity across the Sunyani Municipality and surrounding communities.
The blackout, which occurred on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, was caused by a technical fault at the GRIDCo switch yard in Sunyani, involving Transformer Two (T2)—the larger of the two transformers at the facility, with a capacity of 33 megavolt-amperes (MVA).
The incident plunged parts of Sunyani and adjoining communities into darkness, forcing many businesses particularly electricity-dependent enterprises to suspend operations, resulting in financial losses and significant inconvenience to residents.
PURC Engagement With Power Utilities
A joint PURC team from Accra and the Bono Regional Office visited the Bono Regional offices of NEDCo and GRIDCo, where they held separate engagements with management of the two utilities to ascertain the cause of the outage and assess the response measures adopted.
Narrating the incident to the PURC team, the Sunyani Area Manager of NEDCo, Ing. Eugene Odoi Addo, said the fault occurred at about 4:00 p.m., when operators detected an unusual sound from the switch yard.
“This was immediately followed by smoke and oil spillage around one of the transformers, prompting operators to shut down the system to protect lives and property,” he explained.
Ing. Odoi Addo attributed the disruption in power supply to a technical fault on Transformer Two (T2), describing it as a critical component of the substation that plays a major role in electricity distribution within the municipality.
Emergency Measures and Power Management
Despite the severity of the incident, Ing. Odoi Addo said NEDCo was able to partially restore approximately 42 percent of the 11kV load to selected areas, particularly critical installations, to ensure the continuity of essential services while engineers worked to stabilize the system.
However, the fault compelled NEDCo to implement a temporary eight-hour power management schedule, a measure that left many traders and shop owners counting their losses.
Call for Long-Term Infrastructure Upgrade
The NEDCo Area Manager stressed the need for infrastructure expansion to meet Sunyani’s growing demand for electricity.
“There is the urgent need for a higher-capacity transformer that can adequately support and supply power to the expanding population and commercial activities in Sunyani,” he recommended.
PURC Assures Oversight and Follow-Up
Speaking after the engagements, Ing. Enyonam Kumi, of the Energy Service and Performance Monitoring Directorate at PURC’s Accra office, said the Commission would carefully review the technical and operational data submitted by the utility providers.
She explained that PURC’s assessment would examine the response actions taken during the outage, as well as the quality of power supply after restoration, to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
“PURC takes issues of power supply very seriously. We will follow up to ensure that all necessary corrective and preventive measures are implemented to improve reliability,” she assured.
Ing. Kumi commended NEDCo and GRIDCo for their swift coordination and prompt efforts in restoring power to affected areas within a relatively short time, adding that the Commission would maintain continuous monitoring to ensure sustained improvements in service delivery.
As part of the monitoring exercise, the PURC team also engaged affected customers across parts of the Sunyani Municipality to gather first-hand accounts of the impact of the outage.
PURC Monitoring Team
The PURC monitoring team was made up of the Bono Regional Manager, Mr. Patrick Antwi, the Bono Regional Senior Complaints Officer, Mr. Isaac Osei Agyeman, and officials from PURC’s Accra office, Ing. Enyonam Kumi and Mr. Cecil Oduro-Nyarko, both of the Energy Service and Performance Monitoring Directorate.
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Source:
www.gbcghanaonline.com