Ghana’s Minister for Energy Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh is upset with Ghanaians who are demanding a load shedding timetable from the power distribution companies, Electricity Company of Ghana and Northern Electricity Distribution Company, to enable them to plan.
Minister Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who claimed the West African nation had not returned to the era of erratic power supply, popularly known in the Ghanaian parlance as ‘Dumsor’, which was experienced between 2012 and 2016 under the previous administration, challenged those who think the country had returned to that era to publish their own load shedding timetable.
“Ask those who want it to bring it if there is. I haven’t seen any timetable. The ECG says that there’s no timetable coming. Why do you want to bring a timetable…for what purpose? Why would somebody wake up and wish evil and wish bad for the country? When it is not planned, you can’t tell the person,” the Minister who is also the Member of Parliament for South Manhyia in the Ashanti Region stated when quizzed by some journalists in Ashanti Region during the launching of the campaign team of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Saturday, March 23, 2024.
Since last year, Ghanaians have been experiencing power outages, with some areas experiencing outage either the whole day or hourly.
Earlier this month, the ECG issued a statement informing consumers that about 630 distribution transformers within communities across its operational areas have been identified to be full to capacity due to increased power demand.
“This situation may result in blown fuses and broken conductors causing outages especially during the peak load period (7pm-11pm),” the company said.
This development compelled the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), the regulator for electricity and water utility, to demand among other things load shedding timetable from the ECG.
While ECG is yet to comply with the regulatory order, Ghanaians especially some players in the industry, have been alarmed by the Minister’s comment.
The Minister, however, assured the public that efforts are being made to address the challenges being faced in the power sector.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
