Article: Power outages being resolved
This unwelcome guest known as "Dumsor" has left Ghanaians and businesses in the dark and they are seeking answers
In recent times we have been grappling with erratic power outages. These unpredictable and frustrating disruptions of electricity supply has been attributed to various factors including aging infrastructure, maintenance issues, transmission challenges, illegal connections to name a few.
This unwelcome guest has left Ghanaians and businesses in the dark and seeking answers. However, amidst this uncertainty experienced for a little over three months, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is working diligently to resolve the issue and restore a stable and reliable supply of electricity as he has done for the past seven years.
Since assuming office in 2007, the President has taken concrete steps to improve power generation and supply. His Excellency has commissioned several electricity projects aimed at improving Ghana’s power generation and supply.
These projects include a $40 million Bulk Supply Point (BSP) electricity project at Adabraka, Ghana’s first micro hydroelectric plant at Alavanyo in the Volta Region, and the 15MW Kaleo Solar Power plant at Kaleo in the Upper West Region which is expected to provide power to over 32,000 households.
Additionally, the Tsatsadu Generating Station (TGS) was commissioned, situated on the Tsatsadu Waterfalls in the Hohoe District of the Volta Region, with a capacity of 45kW and the possibility of adding another 40 to 60kW capacity turbine in the future.
These projects demonstrate the government’s commitment to increasing Ghana’s power generation capacity and improving the reliability of electricity supply.
Contrary to claims by the National Democratic Congress and its affiliates, the Nana Addo-led administration has made significant strides in increasing Ghana’s electricity generation capacity.
According to the Energy Commission of Ghana’s reports, the installed electricity generation capacity has increased from 3,794.6 MW in 2016 (page 5 of the Energy Commission of Ghana – National Energy Statistics 2007 – 2016) to 5,454 MW in 2022 (page 10 of the Energy Commission of Ghana – National Energy Statistical Bulletin, 2023), with a dependable capacity of 4,843 MW.
This represents a substantial increase in hydro, thermal, and renewable energy sources. Specifically, hydro capacity has remained steady at 1,584 MW, thermal capacity has increased to 3,758 MW, and renewable energy capacity has grown to 112 MW.
These achievements demonstrate the government’s commitment to enhancing Ghana’s power generation and supply. Additionally, ongoing projects will further augment the country’s electricity capacity, underscoring the administration’s dedication to ensuring a reliable and robust energy infrastructure.
The government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is responsive to the needs of Ghanaians and does not have the ‘dead goat syndrome’. Unlike the previous government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party government will not subject the country to neither four years of dumsor; use erratic power supply as an excuse for the Ghanaian to stop using mobile phones; attribute the current three months of erratic electricity supply to an ‘act of God’; ask Ghanaians to pay realistic prices for electricity to address the current challenges; nor exacerbate the plight of Ghanaian.
I completely understand the public’s frustration with the erratic power supply, as we all share similar experiences. The citizenry have every right to express their disappointment, and I appreciate H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s acknowledgment of the issue and his reaffirmed commitment to resolving it.
His Excellency has worked tirelessly over the past seven years to maintain a stable power supply, recognizing its essential role in driving economic growth, development, and daily life. I am confident that his continued efforts will yield positive results.
The writer is Neil Owusu, Member, NPP National Communication
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