GRIDCo Staff Threaten Sit Down Strike Over ‘Huge Debts’

Power cuts may characterise the Christmas festivities if staff of the Ghana Grid Company Ltd (GRIDCo) carry out a planned industrial action from December 10.

GRIDCo staff have threatened to stop work completely from December 10 if debts owed them by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) and the Volta Aluminum Company (VALCo) are not settled.

Presenting a petition to the Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei Asare, yesterday after a mammoth protest march by hundreds of staff of GRIDCo, Chairman of National GRIDco Saff Association, Rafael Konor, said the total withdrawal of services would have started on today December 4, but for the petition they have presented.

Mr Konor said the new critical date that the government and all stakeholders must note is December 10.

GRIDCo runs the National Interconnected Transmission System (NITS) which ensures the transmission of electricity from wholesale suppliers (generating companies) to bulk customers, which include the ECG, NEDCo among others.

GRIDCo staff are demanding that some GH¢250 million which President Nana Akufo-Addo directed the Finance Minister to pay GRIDCo be carried out.

They are also demanding the following debts be paid immediately to GRIDCo: VALCo’s debt of about $32,567,974 as of September 30; ECG’s debt of about GH¢607 million as of March 1, 2019; the PDS debt of GHS94,204, 903 which ECG collected during the suspension of the PDS; the NEDCo debt of about GHS177 million as of September 30, 2019.

The GRIDCO leadership has been pushing the payment of these millions since the beginning of this year.

Clad in red and black attires, the protestors brandished placards some of which read “GRIDCO is bleeding, Energy sector without GRIDCO is useless, Pay GRIDCO to prevent Donsor among others” to drum home their concerns and marched from the Black Star Square to the Finance Ministry.