Ghana Grid Company Ltd (GRIDCo) on Monday, honoured 34 employees, who restored the 330 KV Aboadze-Anwomaso 260-kilometre line serves Kumasi and its environs, Bono East, Northern and Upper East Regions and Burkina Faso.

Each member of the group christened the ‘gallant 34’,  received a certificate of honour and a  cash reward ranging  between GH?2,000  to GH?5,000, for the excellent and dedication to duty even in the face of difficult terrain.

The engineers and technicians were assembled from the Southern Network Services (SNS), Northern Network Services, procurement, technical services,  engineering planning and design in Prestea, Kumasi, Tema and Takoradi.

It is recalled that, on November 8, a telecommunication mast belonging to Global Com (Glo) fell on the transmission  line at Bogoso, leading to the collapse of three towers of the 330kv Aboadze -Anwomaso transmission line which carried bulk power from Aboadze to Kumasi and the northern part of Ghana.

Generally, the incident according to GRIDCo, resulted in power supply challenges in Kumasi and its environs during the peak periods.

However, the team worked around the clock to complete the job ahead of schedule.

“Apart from the economic cost and inconvenience caused by power supply challenges to the affected customers, the situation also negatively impacted on power stability, transmission loss, revenue and cash flow from GRIDCo.

This was a great worry to all stakeholders and GRIDCo as a power system operator.” Chief Executive, Ebenezer Essienyi, noted at the event.

He said “The astonishing tenacity, hard work and dedication, unity of purpose and teamwork exhibited by the team and with the support of KEC International, electrical contractor, the situation was normalised   and power restored   on Tuesday, December 7, well ahead of the expected completion date of December 20.”

Mr Essenyi added that,  the completion of the restoration works  in good time brought a great relief to all stakeholders, and that, the business impact of this achievement had been enormous.

Board Chairman, Kabral Blay Amihere said, the board and management recongnised the great accomplishment, especially amidst some challenges which were overcome to complete the enormous task.

He said, the efforts combined with innovations to deliver high quality and speed work were commendable stating that “the work ethic and involvement exhibited are admirable.”

Project Team Leader and Manager, Construction and Quality Assurance, Abdul Samed Ibrahim, said the team felt the hardship which citizens of Kumasi and its environs had to endure within the period and ensured that job was done on time.

Meanwhile, the Area  Manager at Bogoso, Abraham  Doku, in an interview with the Ghanaian Times, said the deployment of the team and logistics supplies to the  Tintimhwe site on  November 9, was a huge challenge as  the area was a mountainous terrain.