The Deputy Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr Kwadwo Obeng, has said that the simplest explanation for the prevailing erratic power supply situation in the country is shortfall in generation.
He said this in an answer to a question posed by the Co-chair of the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), Dr Steve Manteaw at a public forum organised by CSOs in the energy sector, led by IMANI Africa and the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, COSECA, NRGI and IES.
Dr Manteaw’s question was, “What is Dumsor?” Mr Obeng answered, “it is basically a shortfall in generation. It means there is shortage in the system. We expect a quantum, but we don’t get. Sometimes, it is gas shortage, sometimes it is maintenance. It could be a number of factors.”
His explanation comes at a time when the Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh has said emphatically that the current electricity supply challenges are due to maintenance works, which he referred to as, “Dum-siesie.”
In a development that confirms Mr Obeng’s assertion, on June 13, the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and his outfit (ECG) announced that parts of the country will experience power cuts in the coming days.
This, they explained, is due to a reduction in gas supply from Nigeria.
“GRIDCo and ECG, however, wish to assure the public that we are collaborating with other stakeholders in the power value chain to optimize available resources and ensure minimal impact of the reduction in gas supply on consumers,” a portion of the joint statement read.
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During the public forum aforementioned, members of the public took turns to share their concerns with Mr Obeng, one of which had to do with low voltage.
He said until customers report their low voltage experiences to the ECG fault section, the officials will not know about their predicament.
“If you don’t report low voltage, it is difficult for us to know. It is always good to report”, he said.
While he acknowledged the challenges being faced by customers in accessing electricity, the Deputy ECG MD stressed that they can only help when the faults are reported.
He pledged that they would keep improving their services.
“You will agree with me that our services keep improving. Now, you can be in Kumasi and buy electricity for a house in Accra,” he said, but was greeted with chuckles from the audience.
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Background
The purpose of the forum was to engage the Management Teams of the VRA, ECG, GRIDco, PURC and Energy Commission to understand the key issues leading to the recent power sector challenges and the mechanisms implemented to restore stability and improve institutional coordination in the power sector.
The public forum was held against the background that the power sector remains critical to Ghana’s economic growth and development.
Over the last decade, the sector has witnessed episodes of short-term stability and long-term unreliable supply. Despite successive governments’ investments, the power sector continues to experience perennial challenges that affect reliable power supply.
The recent power outages have sparked serious concerns about the institutional coordination between the power sector utility companies and the leadership needed to ensure coherence of action to restore stability in the power supply.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the energy sector have keenly monitored the debates and disputes that have accompanied the processes to restore stability in power supply for households and businesses.
Given the key role CSOs play in the energy sector governance, advocacy, discussions must be evidence-based and target the critical issues that affect the power sector, devoid of aspersions and accusations.
