At least 20 electricity transformers were damaged in the Upper East Region between January and August 2026, with the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) linking the destruction partly to illegal connections and power theft.
The Commission said the damage to critical electricity infrastructure was compounding existing challenges within the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) network and could further affect the quality and reliability of power supply.
Mohammed Adam Sulaiman, Regional Manager of PURC, disclosed this in Bolgatanga while addressing concerns over the growing tension between electricity consumers and NEDCo.
He said some consumers were resorting to direct connections from main distribution lines, practices that could overload and damage transformers, meters and other components of the distribution network.
The disclosure comes at a time when consumers in parts of the region are complaining about frequent and prolonged power outages, high electricity bills, delays in acquiring electricity meters and the unavailability of meters in some communities.
Mr Sulaiman acknowledged the concerns but said consumers also needed to recognise that some of the challenges confronting the power distribution system were being aggravated by illegal activities.
He expressed particular concern over attacks and threats against NEDCo personnel, as well as the destruction of electricity infrastructure by frustrated consumers.
The PURC Regional Manager urged consumers to channel their grievances through the Commission rather than resort to threats, attacks or destruction of property.
“PURC is a body created by law, and so every single action of ours must be consistent with the law,” he said.
He explained that the Commission had the legal mandate to receive, investigate and resolve complaints while protecting the interests of both consumers and utility providers.
Mr Sulaiman also clarified that not all power interruptions could be attributed to NEDCo, saying some outages originated from GRIDCo, while others were caused by external factors such as heavy rain, windstorms, falling trees and accidents.
He said consumers also had a responsibility to pay for electricity consumed, noting that NEDCo had a legitimate right to mobilise revenue to sustain its operations.
Disconnection, he explained, was among the lawful mechanisms available to the company to recover unpaid bills.
The PURC therefore called for greater responsibility on both sides, with consumers expected to pay their bills and avoid illegal connections, while NEDCo was required to provide reliable and quality electricity services.
The tensions surrounding electricity supply were recently highlighted at Tongo in the Talensi District, where residents endured a power outage lasting more than a week.
The prolonged blackout resulted in an impasse between residents and NEDCo and prompted PURC to intervene.
Mr Sulaiman said the Commission helped facilitate the resolution of the dispute, describing the incident as an indication of the importance of an independent regulator in resolving conflicts between utility providers and consumers.
He urged consumers facing service challenges to use PURC’s complaint-resolution mechanisms to seek redress rather than taking the law into their own hands.
