Dumsor: Minority Blames Government's Dubious Energy Sector Contracts For Power Crisis
- John Jinapor, the Ranking Member on Parliament's Energy Committee, has warned that Ghana's energy sector is on the verge of collapse
- He said the Akufo-Addo-led government had forced the Ghana Gas Company to sign dubious contracts, contributing to the power shortfall
- Jinapor said that the government had also failed to fulfil its financial obligations to Tullow and other independent power suppliers
The Minority in Parliament has blamed the seeming resurgence of load-shedding on dubious contracts signed by the Akufo-Addo-led government through the Ghana Gas Company (GGC).
The minority stated that government had pressured GGC to sign an $800 million contract with the Phoenix Park Gas Processors Consortium under controversial circumstances without parliamentary approval.
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The caucus stated that the dubious contracts have contributed to major power deficits, which in turn have contributed to the country's load-shedding situation.
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, John Jinapor, said that despite the challenges with power deficits, the government has barred the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) from informing Ghanaians about the situation.
He noted that it is for this reason that despite a 500 megawatt power deficit on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, leading to power cuts in areas across the county, neither GRIDCo nor ECG informed clients before the power outages.
In an interaction with the media, John Jinapor further revealed that Tullow Ghana, one of the country’s leading gas suppliers, has not been paid for the gas it has supplied to the country in the past nine months.
He disclosed that due to the government’s negligence of its financial obligations to the company, Tullow has threatened to cut gas supply to the national grid.
Meanwhile, independent power producers have also reportedly dispatched a letter to the Finance Minister threatening a similar action if the government does not settle its $1.2 billion debt and liabilities.
John Jinapor warned that the energy sector is on the verge of collapse, and swift action is needed to salvage it.
ECG, GRIDCo apologise for dumsor
Meanwhile, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and GRIDCo have blamed recent power challenges on technical challenges at the Ghana National Gas Company’s processing plant in Atuabo.
Parts of Ghana have faced erratic power supply, which the authorities have attributed to limited gas supply for power generation.
In a statement, GRIDCo and ECG apologised to Ghanaians for the power supply lapses and assured them that engineers were working to resolve the issue.
Ghana Gas announces shutdown
YEN.com.gh also reported that Ghana Gas announced a planned shutdown and maintenance of its gas processing plant and offshore gas export facilities.
The planned maintenance work began on August 1, 2024, and was expected to end on August 17, 2024, with measures in place to ensure a swift process.
Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
