The ongoing power outage concerns, commonly known as ‘Dumsor,’ has engendered the Deputy Energy Minister, Andrew Egyapa Mercer’s remarks who has given the public update on the ‘Dumsor’ resolution.
The announcement was made during an interview with Bernard Avle on the Citi Breakfast Show on Citi FM. According to Mr. Mercer, there will be no more intermittent power outages from Thursday, January 11, 2024.
What has happened over the past few days is that some obligation owed by GNPC to WAGPCo was an issue. WAGPCo threatened [and] GNPC made some initial payments [but] it wasn’t satisfactory. We requested the Ministry of Finance to top up. We had to go through some approval processes
As of yesterday [Wednesday] evening the Ministry of Finance had approved a sum of 10 million to pay for a part of that debt. So that was the hiccup that we encountered that led to the power outages we encountered in the past few days. But that has been resolved.
Yesterday, WAGPCo said it was going to restore and that was accordingly made from the West to the East, to power plants in the East. And so there is no ‘Dumsor’ to warrant the shedding. Mr Mercer remarked.
In a significant move to reinforce this commitment to uninterrupted power supply, Mr. Mercer shared that the Ministry of Finance disbursed $10 million to the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAGPCo) on January 10, 2024, specifically for gas supply. This financial injection aims to address the root cause of the recent power challenges and ensure a stable power grid.
Despite the Deputy Energy Minister’s optimistic outlook, the Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Security (IES), Nana Amoasi VII, offers a different perspective. Nana Amoasi VII suggests that Ghana may encounter further power outages in the coming days. He attributes the recent outages to financial challenges, emphasizing a potential need for ongoing monitoring and proactive measures to mitigate future disruptions.
As the government takes steps to resolve the power supply issues, there remains a need for continued transparency and communication to keep the public informed about the progress and any potential challenges that may arise.
