Nana Amoasi VII, the Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Security (IES), has issued a sobering warning about Ghana’s power situation, predicting a significant deterioration by 2025. This concern arises amidst ongoing challenges with intermittent power outages, locally termed as “dumsor.”
The warning comes in the wake of comments made by the Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, on Monday, March 25, 2024. Dr. Opoku Prempeh responded to critics urging for a load-shedding timetable by suggesting they create one themselves.
In an interview with Bernard Avle on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, March 26, Nana Amoasi VII outlined the impending crisis, painting a dire picture of Ghana’s energy supply.
He emphasized that the situation is expected to worsen from 2025 onward due to escalating debt within the sector. Nana Amoasi VII likened money in the power sector to lubrication in a car’s engine, stressing that insufficient funds lead to friction and eventual breakdown. He expressed concern that sector managers are not acknowledging the problem, which hampers efforts to address it effectively.
Highlighting financial challenges throughout the supply chain, Nana Amoasi VII pointed out that inadequate savings at the end of the chain result in debts across various entities involved in power generation, transmission, and distribution. Without resolving these financial issues, he warned that dumsor would persist.
He urged for comprehensive investigations by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to cover the entire value chain beyond just the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). Failure to address these financial constraints, he cautioned, would burden future governments and prolong the power crisis significantly.
