A brazen theft of a 100KV transformer belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) plunged Bunsu town in the Eastern Region into darkness for over five days. The stolen transformer, situated near the police and fire stations, marks the fifth such incident in the district and the 16th damaged transformer since 2023.
Emmanuel Halm, ECG’s Public Relations Officer for the Eastern Region, described the situation as “alarming” and suspected that the thieves may have specialized knowledge. “We are appealing to the general public to be on the lookout for suspicious characters…and report them to the police quickly to help us protect these national assets,” he urged.
The theft left the entire community in darkness, with the Plants Genetic Resources Research Institute particularly affected. The institute relies on electricity to preserve seeds, and the power outage threatened to damage their preserved seeds. However, ECG’s prompt restoration of power saved the seeds from potential damage.
The institute’s Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Sakyi, commended ECG for their swift response. “If some intervention had not come, it would have been a lot for us,” he said. With power restored, the town is back to normal, but the incident highlights the need for vigilance to protect national assets like transformers from theft and damage.
