The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has jumped to the defence of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) saying the company cannot be entirely blamed for the recent power cuts in the country.
The PURC is worried that ECG is bearing the brunt of public criticisms due to the electricity distribution role it plays within the country’s power distribution chain.
ECG has in recent times come under fire for the intermittent power supply being experienced by Ghanaians.
Speaking to Citi News, Head of Public Relations and External Affairs at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, Bawah Munkaila said Ghanaians should exercise some patience with ECG.
“It is unfortunate that the general public is in direct contact with ECG. So whenever the consumer is having erratic power supply, we blame ECG. It’s a value chain and it’s a three-step in the value chain. We have the generation, the transmission and the distribution. It is the distribution that serves as power in our premises. The generation and the transmission are in the background. So if it’s a problem in the value chain, the consumer may not be aware of where the problem is coming from. So some of these things may not directly be associated with ECG.”
Ghanaians have in the past few months been experiencing intermittent power outages, sparking fears that the country may be returning to the days of unstable power supply popularly known as ‘dumsor.’
GRIDCo, which is Ghana’s power transmitter has in various forums however insisted that the challenges are technical and that the country will not experience ‘dumsor’.
GRIDCo said some of its transmission lines are faulty and for scheduled maintenance works to be done, some areas will need to have their power disconnected.
The power transmission company also in a statement issued on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, called for calm saying, it has no intention of publishing a power rationing timetable.
Meanwhile, Ghanaians have been urged to brace up themselves for more power outages in May 2021 as GRIDCo and ECG strategize ahead of the expected outages.
Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has said there will be more erratic power supply in May due to the ongoing upgrade of the Kasoa and Pokuase substations.
“Just two days ago, I received a letter from MiDA [Millennium Development Authority] who are helping upgrade the Pokuase and Kasoa substations. They informed me that the progress of the substation is such that in the month of May, there will be systematic power outages, so we have invited both ECG and GRIDCo and in the light of that, let us sit and plan and communicate with the people who will be affected way before it happens.”
