PURC promises reliable power during World Cup


Electricity service providers have rolled out contingency measures to ensure reliable power supply during the World Cup tournament.

As part of the measures, 50 megawatts of power will be taken from Cote d’Ivoire at the times Ghana will play, since the matches would not run concurrently.

A statement issued by the Director of Public Relations and External Affairs of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Nana Yaa Jantuah, said arrangements were also being made with the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) Limited to reduce its energy consumption at the times Ghana would be playing.

The decision to roll out the contingency measures came after the PURC had met officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and the Volta River Authority (VRA) to ensure reliable power supply during the World Cup.

  Power crisis
Ghanaians across the country have been experiencing power outages for the past months due to a shortfall in generation. 

Currently, the power producers are shedding off about 300 megawatts of power because some machines have been shut down for maintenance and repair works.

The ECG has, therefore, released a timetable to guide and inform the public as to when to expect power outages in their vicinities. 

  Streamlining power
According to Nana Jantuah, available units of power would be streamlined, while operational teams would be at post to work on critical substations and installation challenges to ensure expeditious restoration of electricity in the unlikely events of unplanned outages or emergencies. 

She said the PURC had also asked the ECG and the Northern Electricity Department (NED) to furnish the public with their fault reporting lines to enable consumers to call the two companies whenever there were faults in the system.

‘The PURC has asked the service providers to reschedule all other maintenance activities in the National Inter Connection Transmission System and also at the distribution end of the system, with the exception of emergency works,’ she stated.

  Conserve energy
Nana Jantuah urged consumers of electricity to conserve energy during the period by putting off high-consuming appliances such as deep freezers and air conditioners.

‘It should be noted that these plans are put in place for consumers to watch uninterrupted football matches during the World Cup tournament, but within these arrangements the load-shedding schedule, though varied, still exists,’ she stated.

She gave assurance of the PURC’s mandate to critically monitor the situation during the World Cup to ensure that the plans as discussed were put in place.

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