Stop talking and fix energy sector crisis – Minority tells Energy Minister

The Minority in Parliament has demanded immediate action from government to fix the energy sector crisis.

At a press briefing in Parliament on May 19, 2024, Ranking Member of the Energy Committee, George Kwame Aboagye said although the Minority acknowledges the financial challenges of the energy sector, the Minister must take action and provide results.

According to the Minority, any increase in tariffs must be accompanied by enhanced service delivery.

George Aboagye noted that the days of dumsor are over and government must ensure that the country is not plagued with consistent power outages.

“In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen and members of the press, one, the patience of the Ghanaian people is wearing thin. Two, we demand action and result from the Minister of Energy and the government. Three, it is time to stop the talking and put the lights on, because Nana Akufo-Addo did same.

“Four, businesses are collapsing. Five, the minority MPs, especially those on the Energy Committee, we are complaining to the Minister to take action now. Then six, Dumsor is slowing down the economy. Seven, the honeymoon is over, Mr. Minister. Eight, enough is enough,” the Minority noted.

The Minority further made seven demands from the Energy Minister, John Abdulai Jinapor.

“The minister must, one, stop the fear-mongering and focus on fixing fuel supply issues for IPPs, that’s independent power producers.

“Two, engage stakeholders to renegotiate burdensome take or pay contracts. Three, strategically set KPIs for ECG and NEDCo to reduce operational and distribution losses and improve revenue collection. Four, address challenges of the cash waterfall mechanism and enforce it.

“Five, diversify energy mix with renewables and gas optimization. That is, maximize jubilee and Tein fields to reduce reliance on imported fuels. Six, encourage off-peak consumption by industries to flatten demand curve. Seven, accelerate the rollout of smart metering to curb theft and increase revenue mobilization,”

The Caucus believes that the current appreciation of the Ghana Cedi is an opportunity to recover some losses in the energy sector.

The post Stop talking and fix energy sector crisis – Minority tells Energy Minister first appeared on 3News.

Read Full Story