The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation’s (GNPC) inability to fulfill its defrayment obligations to the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) is the cause of the recent power outages commonly known as ‘dumsor‘ in the country, a former Energy and Petroleum minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, has noted.
The WAPCo is responsible for the transportation of gas from Takoradi to Tema for power generation.
Mr. Armah Buah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ellembele has also accused the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for also contributing to the problem for their inability to pay off-takers.
He says Ghana has returned to dumsor considering the recent outages in the country, a fact the government is refusing to admit.
He said the situation is evidently clear, with 500 MW of load being shed as of January 9th, 2024. Several parts of the country especially Accra have been plunged into darkness due to the unavailability of gas to fuel thermal plants within the Tema enclave which can be attributed to financial constraints.
“The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is currently unable to fulfill its payment obligations to the West African Gas Pipeline, which is responsible for transporting gas from Takoradi to Tema for power generation. You can also track the ultimate problem to the weakest link in the value chain-ECG’s inability to pay off-takers.
“Compounding the situation is the absence of a load-shedding timetable, which hampers households and businesses from planning accordingly,” he said.
He added that, “the lack of transparency and communication regarding the power outage schedule only adds to the frustration and inconvenience experienced by the affected population. It is worth highlighting that even during the worst periods of Dumsor in the past, the power outage never reached the 500 megawatts threshold currently being shed yet the media associated with the NPP interestingly see this as no ‘Dumsor,’.”
Their loud silence on the current situation is deafening, he stressed.
“The Ghana Grid Company must, as a matter of urgency, come out with a load-shedding timetable to allow households and businesses to plan better,” the legislator added.
READ ALSO: Check the ECG’s ‘dumsor’ timetable to know when you have power
