Power Challenges: GWCL Aks E/R Residents To Store Water Over Possible Shortage

The Management Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in the Eastern Region has advised residents in the Koforidua and surrounding areas to store water.

According to the Company, the Bukunor Water Treatment plant which supplies about 80 percent of potable water to the Municipality and beyond has been experiencing some electricity supply challenges.

This has ultimately been blamed for erratic water supply in the area.

The Communications Director for GWCL, Stanley Martey, has told Citi News that efforts are underway by engineers from the GWCL and Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to fix the problems.

“We have been having some power challenges in our treatment plant so as a result, we are unable to pump at full capacity.”

He explained that for every hour of power lost, “we lose about six hours of production.”

“So we are aking consumers in the Eastern Region to be storing water as water is flowing so that in the events that water is flowing so that in the event where water isn't flowing, they can resort to their storage.”

Recent power challenges

The nature of the power challenges affecting the treatment plant is as yet unclear.

But significant sections of the country have been facing power challenges which the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has been compelled to apologise for.

For the power cuts last Saturday, GRIDCo attributed the blackout to a system disturbance on its 330KV line.

Most recently, GRIDCO said the power outages were due to a performance test on a new regulating and metering gas station in Tema.

It said some plants in Aboadze experienced gas flow challenges, hence the inability to generate power.

Following the challenges, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission has assured customers that the appropriate regulatory action will be taken against any utility company in the country's power value chain whose actions and inactions may have contributed to recent power outages.

---citinewsroom