Claims of imminent load shedding in Ghana have been denied by former Energy Minister Herbert Krapa, who has urged the newly elected NDC government to concentrate on efficiently managing the power industry rather than placing the blame on the previous administration.
Mr. Krapa denied claims that Ghana’s fuel supply is dangerously low and could cause widespread power outages in response to remarks made by John Jinapor, the co-chairman of the Transition Team subcommittee on Energy and Natural Resources.
“Mr. Jinapor is not correct. It is not load shedding that “looms.” It is brought on by either incompetent management of the power industry or technical or emergency power generation problems. In his statement, Krapa stated, “It appears that Mr. Jinapor is haunted by the latter.”
In an interview on Tuesday, January 7, Mr. Jinapor charged that the Akufo-Addo-led government had left the power industry in a state of crisis, which he said could result in load shedding. According to him, the nation’s fuel supply for electricity generation is just sufficient for five hours.
Mr. Krapa emphasised that the Akufo-Addo administration made sure there was a steady supply of fuel to run important factories before he left office.
He claimed that by the time he left office, President Akufo-Addo’s administration had light crude oil in storage, which Cenpower currently uses to generate electricity, while AKSA was still receiving deliveries of heavy fuel oil for the same purpose.
He further underlined that the new administration is now directly responsible for ensuring a steady supply of electricity.
In addition to acquiring additional liquid fuel to supplement the gas supply and keep the lights on when needed, the new administration must also make effective plans to prevent power supply interruptions. We succeeded, and if they are capable, they can succeed as well.
He urged the NDC government to concentrate on workable solutions rather than “needless finger-pointing.” Despite the challenging times, Krapa stated, “The NDC government should get to work as we did, the reason we kept the lights on for eight years.”
