Editorial: Power play!

After remaining surprisingly silent amid intermittent power outages in the country, the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) petitioned the Energy Minister last week Thursday, warning of possible disruptions in power supply for customers.

Indeed, GRIDCo reiterated that the National System Control Centre (NSCC) had requested ECG to provide a timetable due to the unavailability of the maximum grid capacity; however, ECG’s reluctance to comply with this request poses a significant risk to the stability of the national grid.

GRIDCo also clarified that accusations levelled against it for emergency disconnections do not accurately represent the present circumstances.

ECG’s failure to adhere to load management instructions constitutes a violation of regulations and thus, GRIDCo says it should not be held responsible for matters beyond its jurisdiction.

GRIDCo’s letter to the minister to intervene is appropriate and we believe his intervention should clarify matters for the teeming consumers of electrical power who are distressed with these unexplained outages that are affecting both businesses and households.

We expect the minister to accord it the attention it deserves and immediately put measures in place to arrest the situation. It is particularly nauseating with this excessive heat we are currently experiencing and yet, no tangible explanation is being offered.

Having oversight over the energy sector in the country, we believe the minister has been properly briefed on the matter but has not come out to explain to Ghanaians what is accounting for these outages and when we can hope to enjoy reliable, stable power.

It is crucial because this blame-game and finger-pointing antic is not helping matters, but is rather exacerbating matters. Once GRIDCo is seeking your personal intervention shows how serious the issue is.

The generational gap in the power sector is there for all to see, demonstrating the current power challenges. While some energy analysts believe GRIDCo’s letter to the minister is a ploy to absolve it of blame, we can only deduce that the issues in the energy sector are yet to be properly divulged to the people of Ghana.

The Paper uses this opportunity to again appeal to the players in the sector to come clean with the public and indicate our true position with electrical power distribution since it is the least they can do.

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