The Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, demonstrated his expertise in finding sustainable solutions to Ghana’s energy needs on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, when he addressed questions from Minority Members of Parliament (MPs) regarding power rationing and electricity cuts experienced in some parts of the country a couple of weeks ago.
Dr. Prempeh, affectionately called Napo, told legislators at a plenary sitting that the energy sector under his watch had not plunged into crisis, warranting load-shedding due to power outages.
He explained that the power outages experienced two months ago were not due to a power crisis but rather unforeseen factors such as rapid population growth and increased business setups.
For instance, Dr. Prempeh noted that areas like East Legon, initially planned as residential districts, have transformed into business hubs, overloading existing power lines and transformers.
This surge in demand, combined with an unexpected gas leak at Cen Power resulting in an instant power loss of 340 Mega Watts and maintenance at Amandi Power Plant, led to power outages. GRIDCo also requested emergency outages in some areas, exacerbating the situation.
These incidents were unplanned, making it impossible for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to announce 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. ECG couldn’t have announced a load-shedding program because most incidents were unplanned,” he noted.
Dr. Prempeh made these remarks in response to an urgent question from the NDC MP for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Etse Dafeamekpor, on behalf of the NDC MP for Tamale North, Alhassan S. Suhuyini, who was absent. Dafeamekpor asked if the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) had been load-shedding power, and if not, why the power outages occurred.
Despite providing clarity, some Minority MPs pressed for more information on the current power situation, as the original question referred to the situation two months prior. Dr. Prempeh maintained that the ECG is not undertaking a scheduled load-shedding program but will address any challenges that arise to ensure stable power distribution.
