GRIDCo’s Right-of-Way (RoW) campaign continues across the Tema and Accra Operational Areas. On Thursday, 3 September 2026, members of the media joined the campaign to observe engagements with encroachers. The Land Management Department led the exercise in collaboration with the Information Services Department (ISD), supported by the Right-of-Way and Security Section, the Tema and Accra Line Maintenance Teams, Corporate Communications, Transport, and Officers from the Ghana Police Service.
GRIDCo launched the exercise on Saturday, 29 August 2026, to urge encroachers to stop activities beneath its high-voltage transmission lines and vacate the corridor, as their presence endangers lives and could disrupt electricity supply. The exercise also precedes the 12th September deadline, set by the Minister for Energy and Green Transition.
The team engaged residents of the Tema Industrial Area, Ashaiman, the Adjei Kojo Market area towards Santor, Adjiringanor, Bawaleshie, Fiesta Royal-Dzorwulu and New Town. It also marked structures within GRIDCo’s transmission RoW and identified high-risk areas beneath the lines that could obstruct maintenance access and disrupt power transmission.
In the Tema Industrial Area, tanker owners who had abandoned vehicles or vehicle components, alongside welding shops, auto mechanic shops and petty trading beneath the lines pose a major risk.
In Ashaiman, many encroachers have established permanent residences within the transmission corridor and damaged pillars marking the RoW around the towers. Food vendors, auto mechanic shops, cattle rearers and scrap dealers have also blocked access to transmission towers. Along the Adjei Kojo stretch, market traders had stored goods within tower spaces and were selling directly beneath the lines. After discussions with the team, market leaders agreed to remove the storage boxes and move trading activities away from the lines. In Dzorwulu and Accra New Town, the RoW was occupied by unauthorised residences, repair shops, excavators and vehicle tyres. All encroachers were directed to remove illegal structures; some temporary structures have already been cleared, while others have been marked for removal.
After the engagements, GRIDCo’s Director of Corporate Strategy, Samuel Kow Acquah, explained to the media that the exercise was prompted by an incident in Ashaiman, where a tanker exploded during welding and damaged part of a transmission tower. He added, “We are doing everything technically possible to make sure that the bottlenecks within the transmission network are eliminated. The least we want is to not have human activities such as these, as they disrupt power supply.”
Some encroachers said the deadline to vacate was too short. Some requested alternative locations, while others noted that they had occupied the sites for many years. Nevertheless, the engagement team stressed the need to protect lives, property and transmission assets, and urged all encroachers to comply and leave the RoW by the deadline.
