By
Laudia Sawer
Tema, July 23, GNA – The Ghana Grid Company
(GRIDCo) is working towards reducing the amount of electricity lost through
transmission to wholesale and bulk users.
GRIDCo currently has a four per cent
electricity loss due to the heating up of transmission cables, a situation if
not checked would be counted by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC)
as a mark of inefficiency in its operations.
Mr Mark Baah, Director Systems Operations at
GRIDCo, disclosed this at a media encounter which formed part of the Company’s
programmes to commemorate its tenth anniversary.
Mr Baah added that such inefficiencies would
be paid by GRIDCo if it failed to reduce such loses, adding that, “PURC would
not transfer such loses to consumers”.
He explained that the losses could not be
avoided as anytime electrons (electricity) flow through a conductor (cable), it
produced heat into the air and counted as electricity loss.
“You can’t prevent the heating up of the
cables, but you can control it to ensure that it does not go beyond the
accepted amount,” he added.
GRIDCo, he noted, was considering building
more transmission lines as most of the lines were over-loaded leading to the
loss of more heat during transmission.
He further said the company also had an option
of changing the transmission cables to heavier ones adding however that the
existing towers may not be able to hold the load on heavier cables.
He indicated that the right-of-way for GRIDCo
must not be encroached upon as doing so could affect the building of more
substations, towers and transmission lines due to lack of space.
Mr Baah advised consumers to help reduce
electricity losses at their homes by using certified electricians to wire their
houses and avoiding overloading circuits at home.
He said apart from leading to high cost in
electricity consumption, the practice could also lead to fire outbreaks and
other risks.
GRIDCo was established on August 1, 2008 to
transmit power from the generators to wholesalers and bulk users and promote competition
after it was ceded off the Volta River Authority (VRA).
GNA