Dumsor: Ghana Has No Issue With Power Generation – Energy Minister
The Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has assured the nation that there are no challenges whatsoever with power generation.
The Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South and popularly referred to as ‘NAPO’, gave this assurance at a press briefing held by the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) in Accra to address the current power crisis in the country.
The situation, he indicated, was simply due to a technical difficulty with the transmission.
Dr. Prempeh further clarified that none of the current challenges are due to the government owing any entity and that Ghana has put in place mechanisms where every generator, transmitter, and distributor of electricity is paid something regularly.
He also disclosed that the government is also introducing a gas clearinghouse where funds will be made available to the suppliers of fuel for our generators.
At the same press briefing, GRIDCo indicated that it has no intention of embarking on a nationwide load shedding program in the months ahead and that it is carrying out key projects to enhance power supply reliability in Accra and Kumasi.
The projects are:
• Millennium Development Authority (MIDA) funded Pokuase substation and Kasoa Bulk Supply Point installation
• French Development Agency (AFD) funded the Tema-Accra transmission line reinforcement project and the 330kV Kumasi – Kintampo transmission line.
With regard to the situation in Kumasi and the northern parts of Ghana, GRIDCo explained that this stems from the inability to dispatch the Bui Hydro Electric Plant (HEP) due to the low water levels.
The implication is that all the electricity required in that area has to be supplied from the southern part of Ghana.