Assurances from the Energy Ministry are that the erratic state of power supply in the country is not a result of financial problems or mismanagement.
Speaking on Citi TV’s The Point of View, Nana Oppong Damoah, the Head of Communication at the Energy Ministry, blamed the issue on logistical challenges.
“We’ve had logistical challenges with the supply of the fuel. Not that we haven’t been able to buy,” he stated.
He cited the partial shutdown of gas infrastructure over the last few weeks and challenges with fuel supply as contributory factors to the recent power challenges that have led to some form of load shedding in the country.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had a slip in the supply of fuel along the value chain because there are some processes that have delayed and that is what has led to the current situation we are seeing,” he explained
Mr. Damoah, however, noted that the deep-seated financial problems in the energy sector are not new.
“We have had challenges financially in the energy sector for a long time, which is why we have called it a legacy debt situation.”
The legacy debt is said to stand at $2.4 billion, which the Akufo-Addo administration has said it is committed to clearing.
But the Executive Director of the Institute of Energy Security, Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi said he was not expecting the government to admit to financial challenges in the case of the power challenges.
“The power sector is oiled by cashflow. If you have [cash], you can do a lot,” he stressed on the show.
“You can’t tell me that procuring the fuel can just be logistical. It has some dimension of financial issues there, we are certain… When the base is not right, you will be exposed.”
In light of the recent challenges, The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has asked the government to publish a load shedding time table for the country.
According to ACEP’s analysis, the current power situation resembles the onset of the power crisis which bedevilled the country some four years ago.
The Ghana Gas Company had assured tath power supply will be stabilised within the next two weeks.
The company is currently working around the clock to complete work on some pipelines from the Western part of the country to the Eastern part.
Ghana Gas is supervising the connection of pipelines from Atuabo gas in the Western region to that of the West African Gas processing company.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa | citinewsroom.com | Ghana
