Power crisis adversely affects businesses

The lack of a generating set, which is fast becoming a necessity not just for businesses but also for homes, means a constant shut down of shops or offices, a situation which business owners contend will be worse than spending more to keep the businesses open.

From the central business district (CBD) of Accra to Adabraka, Dome near Achimota, Dansoman and other commercial places in the city, generators of different shades of colour line up in shops in readiness for a power outage.

Ghana appears to be joining the league of countries that depend heavily on generators, but at an additional cost to the pockets of owners through maintenance and fuel cost.

Many business operators the Daily Graphic spoke to at Dome Pillar Two, for instance, expressed their frustration at what they described as “irregular power cuts”.

A worker at Internet Place, a food joint, washing bay and business centre at Dome Pillar Two, Mrs Monique Alorvor, said, “The power situation is very bad here. There is no day that our lights do not go off. Sometimes we go without electric power for days and I don’t think this is the best.”

According to her, Internet Place spent about GH¢40 to power its generator any day that it did not have light.

 “So multiply that by seven days; it’s a lot of money,” she stated.

Mr Lucky Akpalu of Dollar Barbering, also at Dome Pillar Two, said he spent in a day on diesel what he would have spent on his prepaid meter bill for a month.

According to him, he bought GHc15 worth of diesel a day to fuel his generator any time the lights went off, while his GH¢15 prepaid credit lasted a month.

 Mr Kojo Quayson of Millies and Laundry World at Dome also said he spent GH¢30 to fuel his generator any time the lights went off.

“The dum so dum so is not helping us. At least the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) should let us know which days we will have light and vice versa because as it is now the situation is really bad,” he stated.

 A silent single phase 5KVA generator now cost between GH¢300 and GH¢1,000, depending on the condition, a range which buyers contend is high, compared to the price range at the time when the generators were not in such high demand.

Story by Naa Lamiley Bentil