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Edward Bawa, a former Member of Parliament for Bongo and a member of the government’s energy technical team, has reiterated the administration’s commitment to avoiding a resurgence of power outages, popularly known as ‘Dumsor.’
His assurance follows growing concerns about fuel shortages for thermal power plants and delays in maintenance work on the West African Gas Pipeline, which experts warn could exacerbate Ghana’s energy challenges if not swiftly addressed.
Government’s Assurance
In an interview with Nana Tuffour Boateng of Channel One News, Mr. Bawa expressed confidence that sufficient resources are available to avert a power crisis. He acknowledged potential hurdles in procuring crude oil for generators but assured Ghanaians that the government is fully committed to maintaining an uninterrupted power supply.
“All things being equal, we will get the product [crude oil]. With the money we have identified, we will use it. I’m sure we will get it. We don’t have control over how we will get the vessels into the country because that will depend on the supplier. So we need to look at all those areas,” he explained.
He added, “All we can say is to re-echo what the President said, that he will ensure that Ghanaians do not go through that ordeal [Dumsor].”
Criticism of Previous Administration
Bawa criticized the Akufo-Addo administration for failing to ensure timely maintenance of the West African Gas Pipeline in October 2024.
“WAPCo actually wanted to do this maintenance work in October 2024, and they had written to the government for that. The government of Ghana said they should shift it to January 2025 because they wanted to make arrangements for alternative fuel-liquid fuel.
“Unfortunately, the facts suggest that the government just deceived Ghanaians and WAPCo without doing anything,” Bawa alleged.
WAPCo Postpones Maintenance
The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) agreed on January 9 to postpone its planned pipeline maintenance by two weeks, a move that temporarily averts an impending power crisis. The decision followed intense negotiations led by a technical committee established by Chief of Staff Julius Debrah to address the looming energy challenge.
The maintenance work, initially slated to begin this week, was flagged by the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) as a major threat to the country’s power supply. GRIDCo warned that fuel shortages for thermal plants, coupled with disruptions in gas supply from the pipeline, could critically undermine Ghana’s power generation capacity.
Conclusion
With WAPCo’s postponement of the maintenance and the government’s pledge to secure alternative fuel sources, the immediate threat of ‘Dumsor’ has been mitigated. However, energy sector stakeholders emphasize the importance of long-term planning and timely action to ensure sustainable power supply for Ghana.
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