Deputy Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr. Kwadwo Obeng, has stated that the company is unable to provide a planned load-shedding schedule due to uncertainties in power supply.
He noted that strictly adhering to a timetable would be challenging, especially since not all outages stem from fuel supply issues.
Mr. Obeng further explained that outages can also result from planned maintenance, network faults, theft, and vandalism.
“We said that because information about how much was to be shared was erratic, we couldn’t really provide a timetable because, in the morning, we could say that we needed to shed just 40 megawatts at 8 o’ clock.
And imagine we prepared a table to shed 40 and by 12 pm, that situation changes.
“We realise that even if we prepare a timetable, there will be a lot of inconsistencies. And the worst we want to have as a nation would be for the utility provider to say you would go off and then you don’t go off, or your outage exceeds the stipulated period,” he said.
He was speaking at a public forum organised by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on how to address the current power challenges facing the country.
Mr Albert Ayirebi-Acquah, a representative of the Independent Power Producers (IPP), who generate about 2339 megawatts, said the IPPs have in the past three years generated about 40 percent of the country’s power needs.
“Although we don’t have the 2024 power plan, we expect to contribute over 50 percent of the power generated in the country,” he said.
Mr. Ayirebi-Acquah highlighted the ongoing power crisis, attributing it to fuel shortages and the government’s failure to fulfil its financial obligations to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
He pointed out that the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM), designed to collect and distribute revenue to power generators, is not a comprehensive solution to the challenges faced by the power sector.
Ayirebi-Acquah acknowledged that while the IPPs regard the CWM as a temporary measure that offers some predictability and certainty of payment from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), it is crucial for the current commitments under the CWM to be met promptly.
This timely honour would enable IPPs to fulfil their financial responsibilities.
He also advocated for the inclusion of IPP representatives on the CWM implementation committee to enhance transparency, improve efficiency, and ensure that their concerns are adequately addressed.
The forum was attended by other stakeholders, including the Public Utility Regulatory Commission, the Volta River Authority, and the Ghana Grid Company Limited.