The Public Utility Workers’ Union (PUWU) of TUC-Ghana has cautioned against the growing trend of public threats and “sabotage” accusations directed at staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The Union, in a press statement dated Apri l 27, 2026, said it is unhappy with public threats against staff of ECG as a purported response to recent power outages affecting parts of the country.
The statement which was signed by its General Secretary, Timothy Nyame expressed “grave concern” over officials and political actors—specifically mentioning the NDC Regional Chairman in the Ashanti Region—who have publicly called for the dismissal or forced transfer of engineers.
“These threats, which include calls for the transfer and/or dismissal of ECG staff, insinuate that the outages being experienced are the result of deliberate sabotage by employees, rather than underlying technical and infrastructural challenges,” PUWU said in a statement.
It continued that staff of the power distribution company are competent professionals working at the power distribution company.
The recent power instability, they continued, is the result of 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 actualized. This infrastructural gap leaves the network chronically susceptible to faults under the strain of overltoading,” 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 semand 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.
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“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
