Akufo-Addo Halts Export of Electricity To Neighbouring Countries To Support National Grid

• President Akufo-Addo has directed that electricity exported to Ghana's neighbours be redirected to the national grid.
• This was revealed by Atta Akyea, who said this shows the President's commitment to addressing the erratic supply situation in Ghana
• He said the opportunity cost of the directive is the profits the country would lose from not exporting power to the neighbouring countries

President Akufo-Addo has directed that the export of electricity to neighbouring countries be halted temporarily to help alleviate the power crisis in the country.

This was revealed by the Chairman of the Energy Committee of Parliament, Samuel Atta Akyea, during an interview on JoyNews.

This would mean the export of electricity to neighbouring countries, including Togo, Benin, and Burkina Faso, will be redirected and fed into the national grid.

According to Atta Akyea, the directive demonstrates the President’s commitment to addressing the erratic power supply problem facing the country.

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He said while the country would be missing out on the profits the export of electricity earns the country, it would esnure that the lights are kept on in Ghana.

The directive, Atta Akyea said, would be implemented immediately.

Erratic power supply hits ECG operational zones

The country has recently been grappling with an erratic power supply, leading to disruptions in various sectors of the economy and inconveniences for consumers.

This follows an announcement from the Electricity Company of Ghana that it would turn off the lights at peak hours between 7 pm and 11 pm.

The ECG said this is due to transformers within their operational zone being at risk of exploding due to over-capacity during peak hours.

They explained that rapid urbanisation within their operational zones has led to the transformers carrying more load than necessary, thus the fear of them catching fire.

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They noted that the company would be replacing all the transformers to allow the easy flow of electricity to homes and businesses.

ECG refuses to deliver timetable

However, despite calls from the general public for the ECG to release a load-shedding timetable to allow them to plan their lives around the Dumsor, YEN.com.gh has reported that the ECG has emphatically refused.

They stressed that the power outages are temporary and would not need a load-shedding timetable.

The Energy Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, when questioned about the ECG’s refusal to deliver a load-shedding timetable, said people who want a timetable should create one themselves.

The erratic power supply, meanwhile, has caught some state facilities by surprise, including the Tema General Hospital which recently suffered a two-hour power outage which saw patients on life-support machines battle for their lives.

Source: YEN.com.gh