Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, demonstrated his expertise in addressing Ghana’s energy challenges by responding to questions from Minority Members of Parliament (MPs) regarding recent power rationing and outages experienced in some parts of the country.
Dr. Prempeh, known affectionately as Napo, assured lawmakers during a plenary session that his management of the energy sector had prevented a crisis necessitating load-shedding due to power cuts.
He explained that the recent power outages were not indicative of a crisis but rather a result of unforeseen circumstances, such as rapid population growth and increased commercial activities.
For instance, Dr. Prempeh highlighted the transformation of areas like East Legon from residential to commercial zones, straining the existing power infrastructure.
This surge in demand, coupled with an unexpected gas leak at Cen Power causing an immediate power loss of 340 Mega Watts, and maintenance at the Amandi Power Plant, contributed to the outages. Additionally, GRIDCo requested emergency outages in some areas, further complicating the situation.
These events were unanticipated, preventing the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) from implementing a scheduled load-shedding program, he emphasized.
“Mr. Speaker, a myriad of factors caused power outages in different parts of the country at different times. The ECG couldn’t have announced a load-shedding program because most incidents were unplanned,” he noted.
Dr. Prempeh addressed an urgent query from Rockson-Nelson Etse Dafeamekpor, the NDC MP for South Dayi, acting on behalf of the absent NDC MP for Tamale North, Alhassan S. Suhuyini. Dafeamekpor asked whether the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) had implemented load-shedding and, if not, what had caused the power outages.
Despite offering clarification, some Minority MPs sought further details on the current power situation, noting that the original inquiry pertained to events two months earlier.
Dr. Prempeh reiterated that the ECG has not implemented a scheduled load-shedding program but is committed to addressing any issues to ensure stable power distribution.