Minister for Energy, John-Peter Amewu has asked Ghanaians to dismiss assertions by the Minority in Parliament that government has returned the country to an era of load-shedding popularly called “Dumsor”.
This follows recent calls by the Minority on government to be candid with Ghanaians and release a load shedding timetable following the recent power outages in some parts of the country.
The Minority Spokesperson on Mines and Energy, Adam Mutawakilu, commenting on the recent power outages, said the situation is a reflection of the financial troubles facing the energy sector due to government’s mismanagement of the sector.
But Mr Amewu has rejected this position, arguing that the current outrages were as a result of technical challenges in the system.
Speaking to journalists during a tour of Accra Central Bulk Supply Point , Pokuase, Kpone Thermal Power Plant and Asogli Power Plant in Tema, which had caused the recent outages, the Minister assured that government had put the necessary measures in place to resolve the challenges.
“The minority you know is not ready to accept the fact of what is happening now in the power sector. Because they would have wished that this country is brought back to the days of prolonged power outages. I can assure Ghanaians that the recent challenges are as a result of technical challenges and not generation issues. And we are ready to confront this problem to address it so Ghanaians can enjoy uninterrupted power supply.”
Mr. Amewu was hopeful that the current challenges would be rectified within the next five days in order for power distribution to be normalized.
“Definitely because of the construction work that is going on [at Pokuase] there is a need for them [companies in the power distribution chain] to halt the transmission of power for this period. So these are some of the problems they are facing. You can see the progress of work and my expectation is that it is going to be completed within about five days. But we’ve put in measures to minimize the impact. This is one of the major causes of interruptions. The problem has been caused by technical issues,” Amewu assured.