There seems to be a widespread power outage in Ghana.
The lights went off a few minutes after 9 pm on Saturday, March 14, 2020, in parts of the country including Greater Accra, Central, Northern, Eastern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta and Oti Regions.
However, Bono, Ahafo, Bona East, Ashanti and Western Regions have light, according to Citi News correspondents in those regions.
citinewsroom.com understands that the issue has to do with challenges being encountered by the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo).
Some Ghanaians in the affected regions have taken to social media to voice out their displeasure:
Nationwide DUMSOR anaa?
— Jackie Black 🖤🇬🇭 (@JQ_bebe) March 14, 2020
ECG ECG ECG ECG👺👺👺👺👹👹👹👹why koraa….so can’t we go through a simple weekend without dumsor😌😡
— 🇬🇭Edmond Asamoah Jesse ™ (@Edmondasamoahj) March 14, 2020
Thought the minister said these power “interruptions” were over. After 63years of Independence? #dumsor #onlyinGhana2020
— Benjamin (@abegus) March 14, 2020
This dema recent dumsor cause wahala back home. TV catch fire. 2 fridges spoil. Old boy for do some wiring again. 2020 dem de show we ankasakasa.
— TheCharcoalSeller (@its_AK24) March 14, 2020
Corona plus dumsor. What kraa this 😥
— k3shi (@BernardKyei) March 14, 2020
Power outages in Volta and Oti Regions
There were blackouts in the Volta and Oti Regions earlier this week.
Engineers at the Electricity Company of Ghana attributed the power cuts to interrupted supply from the Ghana Grid Company Limited at Akosombo.
The Volta Regional Public Relations Officer of the Electricity Company of Ghana, Benjamin Antwi in an interview with Citi News on Monday, March 9, 2020, said the situation was subsequently stabilized.
Recent intermittent power outages over – Amewu
The Minister of Energy had also stated that the recent intermittent power outages in the country have come to an end.
He gave the assurance after the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited’s (WAPCo) successful completion of the cleaning and inspection of its 20 feet offshore pipeline from Badagry in Nigeria to Takoradi in Ghana.
The cleaning and inspection exercise triggered pockets of power outages following the shutdown of WAPCo’s pipeline.
Speaking to the media, John Peter Amewu said: “We admit there were interruptions but we managed it. I am happy to announce that the cleaning exercise is completed and we have resumed gas flow. I can assure you that a lot of measures have been put in place for a stable supply of power. We have sufficient generation power and we have sufficient finances to back it. Dumsor is a thing of the past.”
‘Dumsor finally resolved but energy challenges still remain’ – Akufo-Addo
Also, while delivering the 2020 State of the Nation Address in Parliament, President Nana Akufo-Addo said the constant power outages, popularly known as ‘dumsor’, which was rampant a few years ago had become a thing of the past since his government came into power.
According to the first gentleman of the land, although the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration had “overcome” the situation, there were still debts that needed to be settled following power agreements signed by the previous government.
“It gives me great pleasure to be able to say that we have overcome the dumsor menace. But unfortunately, I cannot say we have resolved all our energy problems. It is still work in progress. Further, the five years of energy crisis led to the signing of what can only be described as usurious contracts that have landed our country with a huge financial burden. The take or pay contracts resulted in the country being saddled with expensive excess power and our having to pay nearly US$1billion in 2018 and 2019 for power we do not need.”
“We are working to find a way out to ensure reliable power supply at a cost that will make us competitive in the region. In the meantime, the industrialization flagship program; One District, One Factory is progressing and beginning to show dividends,” Akufo-Addo stated on February 20, 2020.
