The Public Utility Workers’ Union (PUWU) of TUC-Ghana has issued a warning about the increasing trend of public threats and accusations of “sabotage” against the staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). In a press statement dated April 27, 2026, the Union expressed its dissatisfaction with these threats, which have arisen in response to recent power outages affecting various parts of the country. The statement, signed by General Secretary Timothy Nyame, expressed “grave concern” regarding officials and political figures—specifically mentioning the NDC Regional Chairman in the Ashanti Region—who have publicly called for the dismissal or forced transfer of ECG engineers.
PUWU emphasized that these threats, which include demands for the transfer or dismissal of ECG staff, suggest that the outages are due to deliberate sabotage by employees rather than a result of underlying technical and infrastructural challenges. The Union reiterated that the staff at the power distribution company are competent professionals, and the recent power instability is due to a chronic infrastructure deficit rather than professional negligence.
“The Union wishes to state categorically that ECG staff are consummate professionals who work tirelessly, often with resource scarcity, yet deliver services to the Company’s valued customers. As you may know, ECG has suffered from years of chronic underinvestment, resulting in the shortage of critical materials and equipment necessary to ensure the reliability of electricity supply,” PUWU stated.
The Union maintains that the current outages are a mechanical necessity caused by years of underinvestment. It highlighted critical technical failures across several regions, including Ashanti, Volta, and Oti, to buttress its point. “In Ashanti Region, for instance, technical reports confirm that frequent outages persist because peak load demand in the region far exceeds the combined capacity of the three Bulk Supply Points (BSPs) currently in operation.
A fourth BSP, intended to relieve the region of this excess demand, has remained on the drawing board for years without being actualised. This infrastructural gap leaves the network chronically susceptible to faults under the strain of overloading,” the statement said.
According to PUWU, the Acting Managing Director, Ing. Kwame Kpekpena, on a working visit to the region, acknowledged this and told the press that work was in progress to solve the current challenges. The release continued that electricity supply in the Volta and Oti Regions has grown beyond the capacity of the installed High Voltage transmission lines (69kV), resulting in under voltages, voltage fluctuations and frequent power outages in major towns and industrial areas, particularly during peak hours.
“The transmission lines need an upgrade from 69kV to 161kV. This is clearly an infrastructure deficit which needs Government support and is not the fault of the technically competent staff of ECG, as it is being insinuated by some political figures and communicators.”
Against this backdrop of well-documented technical and infrastructural challenges, the Union said it find it deeply troubling that certain political, state and media actors in Ashanti Region (Regional Chairman of the NDC) and other parts of Ghana and beyond will publicly threaten to compel the transfer of engineers duly employed and rendering professional services, as though these professionals are personally responsible for the outages customers experience.
“The calling of names of some staff of ECG in the Western Region as saboteurs of the government without any evidence or reporting to appropriate authorities clearly expose these staff who are routinely required to enter communities at all hours to attend to customer complaints, to attacks and public ridicule. Such threats create disquiet among staff, undermine staff morale, and disrupt industrial harmony,” the Union continued.
The Union called on all actors, especially those wielding political influence, to refrain from making disparaging public remarks about ECG staff, and to utilize established corporate channels to raise any concerns they may have regarding the conduct of individual staff or groups of staff in the discharge of their duties.
“The Union will resist, with all our might and through every means available, any attempt at undue political interference in the professional operations of the Company. We reaffirm that the professionalism and integrity of our members remain a cardinal value that neither the unions nor our members will ever compromise…,” the Union warned.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
