'Dumsor': Payment issues with WAGPCo resolved, gas supply restored - Ministry

There is no planned or scheduled power outages in Ghana, the Deputy Minister of Energy, Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer has said.

He has confirmed that the challenges experienced with power outages in Ghana in the last few days was due to a payment/financial challenge on the part of Ghana with the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPCo), which resulted in WAGPCo cutting gas supply to Ghana. 

Mr Mercer said WAGPCo cut supply on January 9 and by January 10 evening, WAGPCo was back. 

"We've dealt with it and WAGPCo is back", he said in a radio interview with Accra based Citi FM on Thursday morning, monitored by Graphic Online.  

Infact, WAGPCo had threatened to cut supply on January 2, 2024 if payment was not made and we spoke to them to extend it to January 5, which they did.

Mr Mercer said on Tuesday, WAGPCo cut supply which resulted in power outages in some areas. 

But that has since been resolved as of Wednesday night (Jan 10) and WAGPCo has since restored supply.

"What had happened over the past few days, is that some obligation owed by GNPC to WAGPCo was an issue. WAGPCo threatened, GNPC made some initial payments, it wasn't satisfactory." 

"We requested the Ministry of Finance to top up and it had to go through some approval process and as of yesterday [Wednesday] evening, following WAGPCo's withdrawal of their service, the Ministry of Finance approved the sum of 10 million to pay for part of that debt. And so that was the hiccup that we had encountered and the outages for the past few days but that has been resolved. Yesterday night, WAGPCo said it was going to restore and that was accordingly made from the West to the East, to power plants in the East. And so there is no 'dumsor' to warrant the shedding."

Speaking in a radio interview with Accra based Citi FM, monitored by Graphic Online on Thursday morning (Jan 11), the Deputy Minister of Energy said he was not sure the entire load which was shed was up to 500 megawatts as was being alleged.

Armah-Kofi Buah's allegation

In the aftermath of recent power disruptions, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Deputy Minority Leader, on Wednesday criticized the government, denouncing its silence on the matter.

On Tuesday, January 9, 2024, certain areas in Accra encountered sporadic power supply issues, mirroring a recent persistent trend experienced in various regions over the past few months.

Expressing his dismay at the unsettling events, the Member of Parliament for Ellembele voiced dissatisfaction with the government's failure to provide a comprehensive explanation to the Ghanaian populace.

In a statement on Facebook, Mr. Buah urged the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) to release a well-defined load-shedding timetable, enabling households and businesses to make necessary arrangements.

"The absence of a load-shedding timetable exacerbates the challenges faced by households and businesses in planning effectively. The dearth of transparency and communication concerning the power outage schedule amplifies the frustration and inconvenience endured by the affected population.

"It is noteworthy that even during the most severe periods of Dumsor in the past, the power outage never reached the current 500-megawatt threshold being shed. Strikingly, the media affiliated with the NPP seem to downplay the situation as not constituting 'Dumsor.' Their resounding silence on the present circumstances is truly conspicuous," he stated.

Writer's email: enoch.frimpong@graphic.com.gh 

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