ECG Vegetation Control Exercise Targets Power Outages in Ashanti Region

General

27 May, 2026

The Electricity Company of Ghana has launched an intensive ECG vegetation control exercise across the Ashanti Region to reduce power outages caused by overgrown trees interfering with transmission lines during the rainy season.

The utility company says trees and vegetation growing near power lines are among the leading causes of feeder trips, voltage fluctuations, and equipment damage when storms and heavy rainfall hit the region. The ECG vegetation control programme aims to address these persistent challenges before they escalate during peak rainfall months.

ECG Vegetation Control Targets Critical Transmission Corridors

Speaking at an inter-regional operations meeting in Kumasi on Friday, May 22, 2026, the Ashanti Sub-Transmission General Manager, Ing. Kofi Apau Ohenese, said the ECG vegetation control initiative was essential to improving electricity supply reliability across the region.

“Government is supporting ECG to improve infrastructure on the network, but we must also pay serious attention to vegetation control and management to improve supply reliability in the Ashanti Region,” Ohenese said.

The company has engaged six contractors to carry out the ECG vegetation control work on major transmission routes, including the Akyawkrom to Kuntenase and Bekwai corridor, Anwomaso to Akyease, and Akyawkrom through Effiduase to Kumawu. ECG has also begun settling outstanding arrears owed to contractors to accelerate work on these critical sections.

Progress of the ECG Vegetation Control Programme

Ing. James M. Yevunya, Manager for Network Maintenance at Ashanti Sub-Transmission, reported that approximately 75 percent of the ECG vegetation control work has been completed. The remaining sections are expected to be cleared before the end of June 2026.

“Supply reliability and public safety are our ultimate goal. Our target is to eliminate vegetation-related trippings on our network,” Yevunya said.

To support the exercise, ECG has introduced its Network Management System App, which enables real-time patrols and inspections along transmission corridors. The app allows field teams to log vegetation hazards and coordinate clearing operations more efficiently.

According to Ohenese, clearing outstanding payments to contractors is expected to boost participation and speed up maintenance work on the most vulnerable sections of the network.

Community Engagement in ECG Vegetation Control Efforts

Beyond the physical clearing of trees, the ECG vegetation control programme includes community outreach aimed at discouraging residents from planting tall trees beneath power lines and within transmission buffer zones. ECG says public education is a critical component of long-term vegetation management.

Industrial consumers in the Ashanti Region have welcomed the ECG vegetation control initiative. An operations engineer at UNICEM Cement Ghana Limited noted that unstable power supply and voltage fluctuations in the Bekwai enclave had occasionally disrupted production activities at the factory.

“If ECG’s vegetation control programme is sustained, it should help reduce some of these interruptions,” the engineer said.

The ECG vegetation control exercise is part of a broader push by the utility to reduce infrastructure-related faults and improve service delivery. The company expects the programme to cut emergency repair costs and improve voltage stability across the Ashanti Region in the coming months.

Ghana’s power sector has faced ongoing challenges with supply reliability, and recent emergency maintenance work announced by GRIDCo at the Smelter II substation in Tema highlighted the fragility of electricity infrastructure across the country.

For more details on the ECG vegetation control programme, read the full report from Starr FM.