Former Power Minister, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, says the challenges being faced in the country’s power sector is financial and not due to technical faults as being claimed by the Ghana Grid Company.
Many Ghanaians have in the past few months been experiencing intermittent power outages, sparking fears that the country may be headed towards the dreaded days of unstable power supply popularly known as ‘dumsor.’
GRIDCo, which is Ghana’s power transmitter has in various forums said the challenges are technical and that the country will not experience ‘dumsor’.
GRIDCo said some of its transmission lines are faulty and for scheduled maintenance works to be done, some areas will need to have their power disconnected.
The power transmission company also in a statement issued on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, called for calm saying, it has no intention of publishing a power rationing timetable.
It said the planned works are not going to be nationwide as being speculated.
“Recent media engagements by GRIDCo, about ongoing projects in the power sector, appear to have heightened perceptions of impending nationwide power cuts. GRIDCo wishes to assure the public that it has no intention of embarking on a nationwide load shedding programme,” the company noted.
The company, however, assured Ghanaians of a stable power supply during this stipulated time period.
“GRIDCo is working with ECG, MiDA, and other stakeholders to ensure minimum impact on customers in the affected areas. GRIDCo is assuring all Ghanaians that there is a concerted effort by all stakeholders, led by the Energy Ministry, to ensure a consistent, accessible and reliable power supply at all times,” it added.
But speaking on Citi TV’s current affairs show on Saturday, April 3, 2021, The Big Issue, Dr. Donkor called for a shift from populist policies in the power sector to the implementation of sustainable plans for the sector.
According to him, the energy sector cannot be managed with populism.
“If the GRIDCo CEO says money is not an issue then he is being very economical with the truth unfortunately as a country we are continuously driven by populism aligned to electoral cycles rather than looking at things in sustainable national interests.”
