Ghana’s power transmission company, Ghana Grid Company, has assured Ghanaians of uninterrupted power supply despite threats by the company’s workers to embark on an industrial action in the next few days.
Board Chairman of GRIDCo, Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere, who gave this assurance during the company’s 10th AGM in Accra, capital of Ghana, said the leadership has taken all the necessary step to ensure that the company’s mandate as the backbone of power delivery in the West Africa nation remains consistent.
GRIDCo’s Senior Staff Association recently held a press conference demanding payment of unpaid debts totaling over GHS1billion from key institutions including Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Volta Aluminum Company(Valco) and Northern Electricity Distribution Company(NEDCo)
The union further threatened a strike action beginning December 4, 2019, if government fails to heed their demands.
However, Ambassador Blay-Amihere assured that regular engagements with key stakeholders are ongoing to resolve the differences and ensure that Ghanaians enjoy consistent provision at all times.
“The Board and Management have spent the last three years restoring the needed stability to the operation of the company and I’m proud to say that we are on a revival to carry on our mandate without fail,” he added.
Chief Executive of GRIDCo, Jonathan Amoako-Baah, in his remarks at the AGM, was quick to rule out media reports that a brief power outage across the country some days ago was directly linked to the intended staff strike action.
“There’s no linkage at all. What happened some days ago was purely a technical challenge arising from power swings on our transmission line to Cote D’Ivoire.”
In a related development, the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), representing government, said pragmatic initiatives have been taken to support GRIDCo deliver on its mandate.
CEO of SIGA, Stephen Asamoah-Boateng indicated that ECG has taken steps to settle its debts to the energy transmitter.
“Government has also taken steps to commit some of the debts owed GRIDCo into equity to shore up the performance of the company. We will support GRIDCo to a point where the company can confidently begin paying dividends,” he added.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com