[ 2016-10-26 ]

Dumsor: 'Frankly, money is a challenge' - Deputy minister confesses
Deputy Power minister John Jinapor has confessed
that finding the needed funds to keep power
supplies stable has remained a challenge for
government.

"Let me be very frank, money has been one of the
challenges," the deputy minister told Joy FM's
Super Morning Show Wednesday.

John Jinapor was in the studio to dispel fears
that a three-year power crisis tamed for the most
part of 2016 may be re-surging.

The power distributor, Electricity Company of
Ghana has explained that large parts of Accra in
darkness is down to maintenance work and not as a
result of shortfalls in power generation.

Quelling perceptions that there is a fuel problem,
John Jinapor was emphatic that "we don't have a
problem with crude purchase".

The Takoradi power enclave received 500,000
barrels of crude last week and another fuel vessel
has berthed at Tema.

Ghana is importing some 600,000 barrels of crude
oil a month at the cost of about $30million to
fire thermal plants.

This fuel generates 300mw of power for 40 days as
15,000 barrels of Light Crude Oil (LCO) is
required to operate 300mw plants a day.

Explaining why it is now a maintenance problem,
John Jinapor said that sub-stations and
transformers are experiencing an overload of
power.

In recent past, the equipment did not have to
supply power as regularly as it now does because
there was a shortage of power to distribute.

If all of a sudden there is power available, it
exposes certain weaknesses in the distribution
chain hence the need for regular maintenance, he
explained.

The power crisis had been lingering on because of
a 550-megawatt deficit. But government has said
that it has added 800 megawatts to the generation
capacity of the power sector.

John Jinapor argued that an overload of power is
stretching the capacity of the power distribution
systems.

Advising against over-politicising the power
problems, the deputy minister said the crisis
affected all Ghanaians irrespective of a person's
political leanings.

The deputy minister explained that government has
had to take hard, painful and unpopular decisions
to address the power crisis because it was the
right thing to do.

"we just have to be frank open and transparent
with the people of Ghana and limit a bit of the
politicking," he said.

Government announced consumers must be prepared to
pay more for power which has gone up by by 182.75%
since 2013.

"But for those difficult and tough decision we
took, we probably wouldn't be where we are
today," he said.

He criticised the main opposition NPP which plans
to remove the energy sector levy if it wins the
2016 general elections.
"If you take the levy off how then do you
restructure the energy sector debts?

Source - Joyfm

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