Dumsor: Ghana Has a Current Power Supply Deficit of 150MW, ACEP Executive Director Says

Dumsor: Ghana Has a Current Power Supply Deficit of 150MW, ACEP Executive Director Says

The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, has voiced concerns over Ghana’s energy sector, highlighting ongoing power shortages and the challenges of load shedding, or Dumsor, affecting major cities.

According to Mr Boakye, Ghana currently manages its power supply with an approximate 150-megawatt shortfall, which he claims necessitates frequent load sharing to meet demand.

“The power sector is not as robust as we need it to be, and therefore we face these kinds of challenges. We currently have a deficit, which is not as significant as it was a couple of months ago; we now have about 150 megawatts of load to share,” Mr Boakye noted in an interview on Monday, November 4, 2024.

He also pointed to issues of low voltages and intermittent outages as evidence of the sector’s limited capacity to stabilize the grid fully.

According to him, the current management of power supply, as tracked by ACEP, may create the impression of sufficiency, but this perception does not align with actual demand.

Mr Boakye criticized energy providers for not being forthcoming about power supply challenges and urged them to keep the public informed to mitigate the impact on businesses and productivity.

“That is why it is important to communicate these matters properly, share the loads, and provide optimal power to those who have it, so they can be productive,” he added.

Touching on financial management within the sector, Boakye attributed the recurring load shedding to revenue collection issues rather than a direct funding responsibility of the Ministry of Finance.

He emphasized, “It is not the job of the Ministry of Finance to pay the electricity bills; it is the responsibility of those managing the sector to ensure that revenues can be collected, so the budget does not bear the burden of paying for people’s electricity bills.”

Ghana’s energy sector, crucial to sustaining the country’s industrial and commercial operations, has faced years of challenges. Recurrent power outages have led to losses for businesses and domestic consumers alike, underscoring the urgent need for reforms in the sector’s operational transparency and financial management.