Give us this day our ‘dumsor’ plan

I did not think I would ever bring myself to write the next sentence, especially as a prayer: Give us this day our “dumsor” plan.

This is not just my prayer but the wish of every Ghanaian who is affected by the erratic electricity supply at the moment, with the possible exception of those whose job it is to defend the indefensible. 

“Dumsor”, the planned power cuts, is far better than the current randomised outages being practised by ECG.

Generally speaking, electricity supply is one of the measures of how well a country is doing and on that front, Ghana is not doing well at the moment, not just in terms of the amount available but how it is distributed and its impact on people’s lives.

The truth of the matter is that there is a shortage and all indications are that this shortage may be with us for a while. So far, we have not had any comprehensive account of why we have the shortage and how it may be resolved but snippets of information, including when Ghana’s gas will come on stream give some indication. 

Most Ghanaians today hold the Electricity Company of Ghana in low esteem, but while ECG is the public face of the electricity chain, the company is definitely not the source of the shortage problem. 

Power outages are not new; they are a feature of underdevelopment or underperformance, or some other malaise in an economic environment. 

The outages can be fixed relatively quickly if they are due to temporary equipment or technical failure but when such outages are due to systemic economic problems, they have to be dealt with properly in the short, medium and long-term basis. 

In the long term, the supply of electricity will have to be linked to several factors in the socio-economic field. For example, we need to have an accurate population profile to be able to supply electricity or any other utility resource correctly. 

At the moment, we do not have such a picture of our population because the last census was botched. To worsen matters, we probably have one of the most active population movements in the world.

Furthermore, I do not think experts can agree on the nature of the rapidly changing population profile in the country. Just look at the speed with which the outskirts of our main cities, especially Accra are growing. 

In the last 20 years, places that were nonexistent have now become overpopulated city centre settlements; such rapid growth and changes in the demographic profile would pose serious challenges to countries with correct population information. 

Imagine us – trying to do it on half-baked facts and guestimates. This is one of the biggest problems facing all utility service providers in the country. Many people in these new settlements have unofficial access to electricity, known simply as “connection”. 

Indeed, those of us who have electricity must count ourselves lucky because there are places in the country that are still waiting for the power we take for granted. 

But even so, if all current electricity requirements could be satisfied, there is no assurance that such a situation could be guaranteed for the future because at the current rates at which demand is growing, we must double the supply of electricity every few decades in order to satisfy demand at current rates.

Therefore, there is a real problem of production and supply of electricity in the country, but the way the “system” is operating makes it look as if these are random cuts occurring for reasons other than shortage. 

The give-away is in the small print about low fuel and gas and that sort of thing, almost hidden in press releases. 

For how long can ECG pretend that the ongoing situation is anything but the type of problem for which “dumsor” was at least a strategic response?

We are now in classic “dumsor” territory where ECG is requested to shed power every day in order not to break the power system completely.  ECG has no option but to shed the required power. 

This is the equivalent of a ship throwing some of its cargo into the sea in order that the whole vessel does not sink. When such a situation occurs, those in charge of the ship have to decide what to jettison and then distribute the weight around the ship in order to stabilise it. There has to be a plan.

Faced with the same demand to shed power, ECG has continued to do it apparently randomly although in practice this has meant targeting certain areas unfairly because it is relatively easier to cut power in those areas than elsewhere. 

I happen to live in one of the targeted areas and now, apart from the power cuts themselves, the anxiety of not knowing when to expect an outage is perhaps even more stressful. 

Apparently there is no pattern or logic to the outages, although a deeper reflection shows that it is not as random as it appears and there is an ECG logic which is unique to the company.

One can understand what is driving the logic, which is to resist imposing a schedule of power cuts, and instead go on as if everything is normal. 

After the last bout of planned outages, the government rashly announced the end of such painful ordeals in our lives, therefore going back will look like a broken promise. 

Or perhaps it is too much work. However, ECG owes it to its customers and even the government to come out with a schedule so that people know when their power will go off or they will  have power. 

“Dumsor” is not something anyone would love to have but it is better than the present “system”; of course it is more honest, transparent and respectful of customers. 

During the first “dumsor” episode, people developed their own coping mechanisms because they knew the plan. In my case, I used to join some other victims for a chat at a spot on the Spintex Road and this soon turned into a kind of a social club. We were even sad when it ended!

In addition to a “dumsor” plan, we also need to know what is going on, and to have a realistic idea of when something like normal service would resume. 

ECG has been preaching conservation of energy, which is a good thing, but it can go further and publish the amount of electricity various appliances and equipment consume. 

Most people have no idea of the real value of the power they use, so such information, which is already available at payment points, would be useful.

However, in the very short term, we need a “dumsor” plan so that we can plan our lives and lead near-normal lives despite the abnormal circumstances. 

Let us get emotional here; last Tuesday is a case in point: Arsenal were playing an important game in the European Champions League so I left for home early in the hope of enjoying one of life’s few luxuries available in Ghana today. 

Of course, I was met at home with a bleak wall of darkness punctured by the acrid smell of generator fuels. If there had been a plan I would not have had to nurse a hurting heart all evening. This ostrich plan may save ECG the effort and the government some blushes but it is no way to treat citizens whose taxes pay for the state. We are also voters who elect the government.

gapenteng@outlook.com