President John Dramani Mahama has assured Ghanaians that there will be no recurrence of the debilitating power outages, popularly known as “dumsor.”
Speaking at a press briefing, the President outlined proactive measures being taken to address potential disruptions in the country’s power supply, stemming from challenges with gas availability and fuel procurement.
The issue arose due to the long-delayed maintenance of the West African Gas Pipeline, originally scheduled for October last year but postponed to January. This maintenance activity will temporarily halt the flow of gas from Nigeria and reverse flows from Ghana’s gas processing plants in the west of the country.
“What this means is that generating plants in the Tema enclave will have no access to gas, leading to a potential loss of almost 2,000 megawatts of power. However, we are determined to forestall any blackouts,” President Mahama explained.
To prevent disruptions, President Mahama has called for innovative measures and coordinated efforts across the electricity value chain. A meeting involving key stakeholders has been convened to devise strategies for maintaining power supply during the period of gas unavailability.
“Enough provision was not initially made for this eventuality, particularly in terms of fuel procurement. Importing crude oil and other fuels like distillate takes time—about three weeks to place an order and get it delivered, followed by another week and a half to treat the fuel to make it ready for use in the generating plants,” the President noted.
Despite these logistical challenges, the government is taking steps to ensure a continuous power supply by securing alternative fuel sources for thermal plants.
President Mahama emphasized his administration’s commitment to solving problems rather than shifting blame or burdening citizens with challenges.
“My brothers and sisters, don’t despair. You elected us to solve problems, not to pass the blame or shoulder you with them. We are working tirelessly to keep the lights on, and with the measures we’re implementing, we will ensure that dumsor does not occur.”
The President also acknowledged the hard work of stakeholders who have been meeting to develop immediate solutions to the crisis.
Ghanaians have been reassured that the government remains committed to providing a stable and reliable power supply. Stakeholders in the energy sector are expected to announce further details of their plans in the coming days as the country navigates this critical period.
The President’s assurance is seen as a decisive step toward maintaining confidence in the government’s ability to manage the nation’s energy challenges.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
