Save ECG Now, a pressure group, has expressed disappointment at government’s inability to resolve issues that have resulted in the erratic power supply in the country.
According to the group, the government has not been able to settle its indebtedness to foreign companies operating in the energy sector, a situation that has affected the supply of energy to the country.
A statement issued by Kwabena Tawiah and Boye Williams, Director of Operations and Spokesperson, respectively, for the group, said: “Save ECG Now wishes to state categorically that Ghana’s energy/power sector challenges is all about money. The unavailability of funds/finances/money is what has created the current challenges that the government is trying so hard to hide from the people. The country has enough installed capacity as well as dependable capacity of power.
“Currently, Ghana has 3644.5MW of installed capacity according to the VRA. At peak hour/level, the country runs between 2600MW-2700MW of power a day. This clearly indicates that, with the right fuel (gas and crude oil) and financial commitment by the government, the country can have surplus/reserve power to even enable VALCO to work at two port-lines or more.
“The financial challenges confronting the power sector which has created much uncertainties on the economic front will continue for a long time if the government continues to lie and deceive Ghanaians as they have done over the last five years leading to not just loss of earnings, but also loss of investor confidence in the country.
“Currently, the Volta River Authority (VRA), which is the main generator of power in the country, owes both Nigeria Gas through the West Africa Pipeline Company (WAPCo) as well as Ghana Gas, which processes gas from the Jubilee Field at Atuabo. While the VRA owes Nigeria Gas about US$180 million, it equally owes Ghana Gas about US$350 million. These debts have created much difficulties for VRA in terms of their ability to procure gas from Nigeria, especially in the last few months. Among the spiral effects of this situation has been the shutting down of the Sunon Asogli Power Plants, which produce 200MW of power. This has equally affected the AMERI plants, which also give us 250MW of power.”
The statement added that: “The Energy Commission of Ghana also estimated for the year 2016 that the Government of Ghana (GoG) would need to commit an amount of US 1.18 billion dollars to buy the various types of Crude Oil (LCO, HFO and DFO) to power the various thermal plants across the nation.
“As results of the many corrupt deals entered into by this government in the energy/power sector, the cost of power generation has skyrocketed to the point where buying power from Cote d’Ivoire appears both financially sound and prudent. It is, therefore, not much of a wonder that the Deputy Power Minister would categorically state, only two weeks ago, that power imported from Cote d’Ivoire is more sustainable and reliable than what we produce in our own country through VRA and the IPPs.”
According to the group, the Government should also consider the following in order to prevent the slight dumsor now and possible massive dumsor after the elections.
1. Purchase the various crude oil (LCO, HFO and DFO) to power the various thermal plants.
2. The government must pay its debts to both Nigeria Gas and Ghana Gas to ensure the continued supply of gas especially from Nigeria through the West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAPCo).
3. The government should activate the Energy Sector Levy and use that fund/money to deal with all the major issues within the energy/power sector.
4. The government should make the necessary plans to ensure that we continue to explore the many opportunities that we have in the renewables (solar, wind, tidal etc.). This has been tackled in detail in the country’s Renewable Energy Act.
5. Government must be transparent in all the deals within the energy/power sector and avoid corrupt deals like the Karpower and the AMERI that brought many issues some months ago.
“Ghanaians should note that the current power crisis has been reduced and government would find ways and means of sustaining it because of the elections. But for elections, dumsor would have been worse. We, therefore, share the opinion that the country is likely to return to the era of dumsor after the December elections,” the group concluded.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
