Accra residents raise concern over power outages 

Some residents of Accra have raised concerns about the recent power outages in their localities.

They said the unannounced outages were hurting their businesses at work and home.

The areas that have experienced the outages the most include Oshiye, Boartianor, Adabraka, Dansoman, Teshie, Adenta, Madina, Mataheko, Kaneshie, Sarpeiman, Shukura, Mallam, Gbawe, Accra New Town and Ngleshie Amanfro.

Residents

A resident of Oshiye, Abena Gyan, said the unannounced light-offs had been occurring in her area for the past two months.

Last Saturday and Sunday, for instance, she said there were lights off in her area and its environs and that this happened mainly in the afternoon.

Ms Gyan said the power outages lasted about two hours before being restored.

Before then, on Thursday and Friday, she said there were also outages in the evenings.

“As for my area, there have been persistent light-offs,” she emphasised.

A resident of Sarpeiman, Hannah Asamoah, said there were outages in her area virtually the entire day last Sunday, thereby preventing her from undertaking domestic and business activities.

She said the power went off around 7 a.m. and that it was restored at 7 p.m., adding that when she called the Electricity Company of Ghana office at Amasaman, an official told her that the lines were being worked on, hence the outage.

“The unannounced outages are a big worry to us because they affect the work we do at home, especially during the weekends,” she said.

At Mataheko and its environs, residents also complained of the outages, saying that business activities were being affected.

A steel bender, Robert Tetteh at Ngleshie Amanfro, said the power outages in his area were no news at all.

Over the weekend, he said, there were outages and then last Monday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., the lights were off.

“It came at around 10 p.m. and went off again. I only woke up in the middle of the night to see the lights back on, so it's a problem,” he emphasised.

Gas shortage 

The Daily Graphic has contacted the Ministry of Energy for comment, but the ministry said its Director of Power would be detailed to respond to the queries, but had since not responded, 24 hours after the enquiry.

Meanwhile, Daily Graphic sources, who do not have permission to comment, disclosed that there had been a drop in the availability of gas from Eni to independent power producers (IPPs) as a result of commercial issues related to gas supply.

They said the situation had persisted for about a week now, thereby affecting the operation of the power producers.

The sources said until the commercial issues were addressed, there would be a continuous drop in gas supply to thermal plants for electricity transmission.

Eni, for instance, was owed $400 million by the Government of Ghana, the sources said.

They noted that the current situation had nothing to do with the Sunon Asogli Plant, which had already shut down due to the government’s indebtedness to it and other IPPs.

The bottom line of the power outages, the sources said, was the lack of the full amount of gas supply to meet local demands.