Gold Fields Foundation Transformers Bring New Hope To Communities Battling Power Outages

Residents and businesses in some communities in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem and Prestea Huni-Valley municipalities are set to experience improved electricity supply following the donation of nine transformers by the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF).

The transformers, valued at approximately GH¢1.098 million, are intended to address inadequate distribution capacity and frequent power interruptions that have affected communities and placed pressure on the local electricity network.

The beneficiary communities include Awudua, Abekoase, Samahu and Benso, while a 500kVA transformer has been provided to support electricity supply at the Tarkwa and Aboso (T&A) Stadium.

For communities where unreliable electricity can disrupt household activities, small businesses and other economic ventures, the intervention represents more than the replacement of electrical equipment. It is expected to provide residents with a more dependable power supply while supporting businesses that depend on electricity to operate.

At the presentation ceremony, Ing. Benjamin Odame Thompson, ECG Tarkwa District Manager, described the occasion as a significant one for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), particularly at a time when the utility continues to grapple with challenges in replacing damaged transformers.

Ing. Thompson, who chaired the ceremony, said the procurement and replacement of some transformers, particularly those serving 33kV systems, could be challenging because of the processes involved. He commended the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation and other stakeholders for stepping in to support ECG’s efforts to address transformer shortages. “ECG has not taken your effort for granted. We are so grateful,” he said.

The donated equipment comprises transformers of varying capacities, including 100kVA, 250kVA, 315kVA and 500kVA, serving both 33kV and 11kV systems.

Ing. Thompson said the intervention was particularly important because communities frequently turned to their Members of Parliament when faced with transformer-related challenges.

He, therefore, acknowledged the contributions of Hon. Issah Salifu Taylor and Hon. Wisdom Cudjoe, whom he said had personally invested in transformers for communities within their respective constituencies. Beyond providing new equipment, however, the ECG District Manager urged residents to help protect the infrastructure from illegal connections and excessive loading.

He explained that rapid population growth, welding activities and local gold-processing operations had increased electricity demand in parts of the Tarkwa area.

According to him, illegal connections could overload transformers and ultimately damage the very equipment communities needed to maintain a stable power supply.

He said ECG monitored transformer loading and advised that transformers should ideally not operate above about 70 per cent of their capacity. Ing. Thompson therefore appealed to residents to desist from illegal connections and report such activities to ECG to help protect the network.

For Gold Fields Ghana, the donation forms part of the company’s broader commitment to supporting critical infrastructure in its host communities. Speaking at the ceremony, Elliot Twum, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Gold Fields Ghana, said the intervention was intended to support essential community infrastructure and respond to the growing energy requirements of households, businesses and public facilities.

He said reliable electricity remained important to the socio-economic development of communities and that the Foundation’s investment was aimed at helping address some of the infrastructure challenges confronting its host communities.

The nine transformers are expected to improve electricity distribution and reliability, ease pressure on existing infrastructure and support local economic activities. At the T&A Stadium, the 500kVA transformer is expected to provide a more reliable power supply for the facility and support its operations and sporting activities.

The Foundation’s intervention forms part of a wider community development programme through which the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation says it has invested more than US$113.20 million in communities across Ghana.

Its investments span education, healthcare, water and sanitation, infrastructure and enterprise development.

The latest intervention therefore extends the Foundation’s community-development footprint into an area that directly touches the daily lives and livelihoods of residents: access to reliable electricity.

For households, traders and businesses that have had to contend with outages and inadequate distribution capacity, the arrival of the transformers offers the prospect of more stable power and fewer disruptions to everyday economic activity.

The intervention also highlights the growing importance of collaboration between mining companies, host communities, ECG, traditional authorities, Members of Parliament and other stakeholders in addressing infrastructure challenges in mining communities.

With the transformers now being deployed to the beneficiary areas, attention will turn to their effective installation, maintenance and protection to ensure that the investment delivers the intended improvement in electricity supply.

Present at the ceremony included the Members of Parliament for Prestea Hunni-Valley, Robert Wisdom Cudjoe and Issah Salifu Taylor, MP for Tarkwa Nsuaem.

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