Snake Causes Power Outage in Ejisu

A brief but startling power outage in Ghana’s Ashanti Region on June 11, 2025, has brought renewed attention to an ongoing and unusual threat to the country’s electricity supply—animal interference.

This time, a snake slithered into the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)’s substation at Kwaso in the Ejisu district, making contact between the Akyawkrom 2 feeder line and the ground. The resulting electrical fault triggered an automatic shutdown of the line, temporarily plunging parts of the area into darkness.

Thanks to ECG’s emergency response team, power was swiftly restored. However, the incident underscores a recurring vulnerability: wildlife disrupting power infrastructure.

“Snakes and birds, in particular, continue to pose serious challenges to grid reliability,” said Collins Manu, Public Relations Officer for ECG’s Ashanti Sub-Transmission. He emphasized that the ECG is taking proactive steps to combat these risks.

“We’re not sitting idle. We’ve ramped up our investments in wildlife mitigation, including installing snake guards, sealing cable entry points, and clearing vegetation around substations,” he explained.

Beyond physical upgrades, ECG is also engaging the public. “Community awareness is critical,” added Manu. “Residents can be our eyes and ears. Reporting unusual activity near our facilities helps us act before small problems become big outages.”

Ing. Peter K. Fletcher, General Manager of the Ashanti Sub-Transmission, echoed these sentiments, stressing the importance of community collaboration. “Our customers are the first line of defence. Early reporting means faster response and fewer outages.”

Although this latest blackout was brief, it serves as a clear reminder: Ghana’s power systems face not just technical challenges, but natural ones too. ECG is responding with a broader strategy that includes ecological barriers and public cooperation to help keep the lights on across the country.