By Iddi Yire/Elsie Appiah-Osei
Accra, Feb 29, GNA – The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Minority has appealed to the Government to fix the ongoing energy crisis, which is affecting socio-economic activities in the country.
Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, the Ranking Member, Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, and NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Yapai Kusawgu, made the appeal during a press conference at the Parliament House in Accra.
He noted that since 2nd February there had been consistent load shedding by the power generating companies, which was getting worse by the day.
“The very day his Excellency the President was delivering the State of the Nation Address and…., at that very period the utility companies were shedding load, the Ranking Member stated. The situation appears to be exacerbated.”
Yesterday alone, there was some whooping 530 megawatt of deficits, culminating in curtailment of power to La Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and to Togo.
Mr Jinapor said investigations indicated that some of the thermal plants were down; “specifically
TAPCO is down, TICO is down and so they are not generating enough power. But more importantly there is a lack of fuel in the system.”
He reiterated that because of the financial constraints, the Government had not been able to procure adequate fuel to fire some of the nation’s thermal plants, culminating in the load shedding being experienced by Ghanaians.
“One month of load shedding is more than enough. This is not sporadic, this is continuous, this persistent, and we think that the handlers of the power sector should do the onerous thing by informing the people of Ghana, so that they can plan ahead of time.” he said.
GNA