''Dumsor" is a thing of the past - Energy Minister

Energy Minister John Peter Amewu has debunked assertions that Ghana is returning to the era of the irregular power supply, popularly known as dumsor.

According to him, the recent challenges with power supply is due to some technical challenges and not as a result of a low generation capacity.

Most parts of Accra and Kumasi have over the past few weeks experienced frequent power outages, sparking concerns of a possible return to the days of “dumsor,” where power is rationed in the country.

But the Minister for Energy, John Peter Amewu suggested that there were challenges of supplying gas to some of the country’s installed power plants particularly the Karpower plant at Tema in Accra.

He said the Ministry while working to move the plant from Tema to Takoradi where constant gas supply is guaranteed, is looking to find light crude oil to be used to power other plants that are able to be fuel with both light crude and gas.

“Number one is to get some light crude oil as a substitute for some of the plants that are dualized. Like the gas is not available, we should be able to use the light crude oil as a substitute. We are working day in and day out to make sure that we relocate the Karpower plant from Tema to Takoradi. When that is done, there is going to be sustainable gas supply directly to the power. We are not yet at all near the era of dumsor.  Dumsor is a thing of the past and we need to work to make sure that we don’t come back to the era any longer,” he said.

Earlier this week, the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) attributed the recent power outages in some parts of Accra to a drop in the gas pressure at Aboadze.

In a statement, GRIDCO indicated that it had to call on other thermal plants in Tema in order to restore full power supply to the affected areas.

But the Minority Spokesperson on Mines and Energy, Adam Mutawakilu, wants the government to be truthful about the recent power outages being experienced in the country.

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Adam Mutawakilu insists that GRIDCO’s explanation is not tenable especially when there is supposed to be a power reserve margin that can be utilized in times of such shortfalls. He said the challenges being experienced were due to liquidity issues.

He insisted the era of ‘dumsor’ is returning.

“The issue is that there are serious liquidity challenges in the power sector irrespective of the many assurances by the government. This government is misapplying the ESLA bond that John Mahama introduced to leverage the energy sector.”

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