The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Eastern Region says it has recorded a total of 18 burnt poles in its operational areas within the first few days of 2023.

The power distribution company said the situation is pertinent to five areas and gave the breakdown as; seven poles at Donkorkrom, five poles in Suhum, three poles in Begoro, two in Mpraeso, and one in the Asesewa as having been gutted by bushfires.

Head of Marketing for the ECG in the Eastern Region, Abraham Lincoln who spoke to Citi News called on all residents in the region to assist them in curtailing and reducing bushfires this year in order to enhance quality service delivery.

“We all know that we have entered the harmattan season and when we enter the harmattan season, one aspect of the season is the outbreak of bushfires and this year, we have already experienced some bushfires in some of our operational areas, and we are urging our opinion leaders and customers to help us curtail some of these bushfires in the various communities.”

He said the trend of setting bushes on fire is so common with farmers in the preparation of their farmlands and advised them to construct fire belts before clearing and burning stumps and grasses on their farms.

“We want to urge farmers that if there is a wooden pole within the vicinity of their farmland, we will want them to create a fire belt around the poles before setting fires to prepare their farmlands to forestall any occurrences of burnt poles which often results in unplanned outages within the locations that they find themselves.”

He said the creation of fire belts will not only curtail the burning of power poles but also prevent deaths emanating from electrocutions.

“If we are able to do this, we will also prevent electrocutions as a result of electricity lines on the bare floor which often cause electrocutions and deaths.”