POWER OUTAGE AFFECTS COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES ...In Hohoe (PAGE 22)

Story: Emmanuel Modey, Hohoe

Commercial and social life in Hohoe, the commercial hub of the Volta Region, is at a standstill, due to power outage since last week Tuesday, which has eventually affected the flow of water to the town.
The outage is due to the breakdown of a transformer at Hohoe after power was restored on completion of major works at Asiekpe in the North Tongu District.
The major work at Asiekpe, which was scheduled to increase output of electricity to the region, was announced to be undertaken in two days with consequent electricity cuts last week Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
After the first day of maintenance work on Tuesday, when power was restored at 5 p.m., Hohoe still remained in darkness, and that continued into the following day.
Customers thought it was part of the maintenance work, until the third day when it affected water supply as well.
It was then that the Electricity Company of Ghana’s staff put out public information that their transformer, installed in 1983, had developed a fault.
They said there was little that their outfit could do, so they had informed Accra through their Ho office, and that they were awaiting response from Accra.
A number of people expressed their disappointment that for all these years the Ghana Water Company Limited could not acquire a stand-by generator for any exigencies.
The water situation has immediately resulted in price of sachet water shooting up by 100 per cent.
Students from schools and colleges such as St Teresa College of Education, St Francis College of Education and Hohoe E.P. Senior High School have to get up at dawn and walk several kilometres to fetch water from the nearby River Day, a tributary of the Volta River.
At the Hohoe District Hospital, the Medical Superintendent, Dr Edwin Danoo, said for the moment, they were relying on stored water and wells, but the situation could be precarious if the rains did not come soon.
When contacted, the Ghana Water Company Station Manager at Hohoe, Mr Seth Takor, said the acquisition of a stand-by generator would not be economical.
He said they were in contact with the Ho office to release a water tanker to serve the people.