The Karpower barge has commenced the production of power but there are still concerns over the availability of adequate power during the Christmas period.
Public Relations Manager at ECG, William Boateng, told journalists that the power distributor is yet to decide on a time-table for the festive period because the Ghana Gas Company faces an imminent shutdown on December 25 due to a $10.5 million debt accruing from unpaid facility insurance.
Additionally, a faulty compressor of the gas company has to be replaced.
“We have seen an improvement in the generation but we are unable to tell you the projection ahead unless we hear from our supplies. I am not with generation but this is based on what GRIDCO is telling us.”
He said ECG would come out with a statement after a stakeholders’ meeting because ECG alone cannot decide how customers should be handled during the holidays with regards to power supply. The decision was expected to be announced after stakeholders’ meeting yesterday.
The Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) recently announced increases in tariffs, but consumers have vehemently opposed the move.
An annual occurrence
Power and water supply to customers in Accra and other regional capitals has not been the best during the Christmas season over the past few years because of generation challenges.
The utility companies resort to power rationing to make up for the high demand.
Lip service
Several promises have been made by President Mahama and his appointees since September 2012 when the power crisis started.
‘Dumsor should be history
Dr Mahamadu Bawumia indicated that government had borrowed $3 billion in the last three years from the issue of Eurobonds alone.
“In total, he said government has borrowed the equivalent of $37 billion. But how much of these borrowed funds have been used to address the dumsor problem? If this was a priority for government, the necessary allocation of resources would have been made to solve it.”
The Karpower Barge agreement was signed by the government to supply 225 mw of power with a reported $100 million guarantee from the GNPC.
It will cost some $225 million after which Ghana would own it. A unit cost of a megawatt plant is $1 million.
Ghana will pay for the power from the barge for the next 10 years whether it is used or not.
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