Gov’t not sleeping over power crisis …Napo calls for cooperation

The Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has said government is not relaxed over the current challenges in the country but rather working around the clock to find a permanent solution to maintaining a stable power supply.

He said a part of the solution includes making significant investment in the energy sector and upgrading of obsolete facilities; a process that would certainly require a disruption in the transmission process.

“I hope the media can convey to Ghanaians the investments that are going on [in the energy sector]. The last time we visited the Ghana Grid Company, we were told some wires had not been changed since the 50s and 60s. These wires have currently been changed to improve the supply situation in Accra. We hope that you [Ghanaians] will bear with us as we put in the necessary investments [in the energy sector]. Outages that are happening are not being overlooked,” Dr. Opoku Prempeh said.

The Energy Minister said the situation requires the cooperation of all relevant stakeholders to galvanize their expertise rather than split apart in a blame game.

He called on the general public, users of electricity to bear with government as it works round the clock to find an immediate solution.

“We plead with you to bear with us. This has become necessary because of government’s investment in the power sector. The idea is to make power supply even better after the works are done”, the Minister said.

Dr. Opoku Prempeh was speaking to a section of the media on Tuesday morning after a tour of the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point.

He explained further: “I think the issue of financial challenges doesn’t even come in here because they are doing the project, we can all see it, so, where does finance come in? The people don’t have money to buy lunch, or?

“I don’t know but as far as we can see, the project is an ongoing project, so, it’s not about finances, it’s just that if you’re renovating your house, sometimes, it’s more complicated and it’s more expensive than even building a new house.

“These our lines that we’ve just been informed were strung, some in 1950, some from 1965, the power they were supposed to transmit, Accra has expanded tremendously, so, they are giving us lines that can improve the power situation in Accra”, Napo added.

The Energy Minister was with Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Information Minister on the tour to inspect ongoing improvement works on the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point of Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), as part of measures by Government to improve power supply reliability in the country.

He said once improvement works are completed, power supply is expected to improve in parts of Accra like Achimota, Westlands,37, Kanda, Legon, Ablekuma, Pokuase and surrounding areas.

Chief Executive Officer of GRIDCo, Mr. Jonathan Amoako-Baah, and a part of the delegation on the tour also confirmed that the current power challenges are necessary for the improvement of the power situation in the country.

Mr. Emmanuel Amuna, Technical controller at MIDA, also noted that there would be further disruptions during the period of repairs: “During that time, we will not have power supply from Aboadze to the Volta Region. That may involve some load shedding in Accra. We are expecting about 100 megawatts during the peak period and 50 megawatts during off peak period.”