Deputy Minister of Energy and Petroleum Hon John Abdulai Jinapor has assured Ghanaians and industries affected by the ongoing load management exercise that government and its agencies in the power sector are working assiduously to ensure the situation is brought to normalcy.
He explained that the intermittent power supply to homes and industries in the country is as a result of the shutting down of some thermal plants in Aboadze to give way for expansion works aimed at converting parts of the plant into combined cycle to be fueled by either gas or crude oil, thereby curbing reliance on one source of fuel and improve efficiency.
Hon Jinapor noted that Ghana does not have control of gas supply from the West Africa Gas Pipeline in Nigeria which has been unreliable and impacting adversely on the Ghanaian power sector, hence government’s decision to fast track the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant project to guarantee constant supply of gas.
The Deputy Minister said players in the oil and gas sector have increased their efforts to ensure that adequate power is restored. He added that government empathizes with Ghanaians and “we share in your pain; we believe that these are difficult moments and we are leaving no stone unturned.”
Hon Jinapor said though the Ministry is dealing with the current problem, it will take into account long-term measures to forestall future occurrences.
He further appealed to Ghanaians to use electricity judiciously to save power, adding that the little power we conserve in our homes are very significant in curbing addressing power issue..