The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says there is no incessant power outages, popularly known as ‘Dumsor’ in the country.
According to the power distributor, although the country has been witnessing power interruptions in some parts of the country, it cannot be termed ‘Dumsor’, hence there is no need for a load-shedding timetable.
The Minority and a section of Ghanaians who are affected by the frequent, unannounced power cuts have demanded the ECG publishes a load -shedding timetable to aid them plan their daily lives.
However, the External Communications Manager of ECG, Laila Abubakar, has debunked claim that the current power outages across the country call for the implementation of a load-shedding timetable.
She said other factors may have accounted for the recent unexpected power outages.
“The thing is, we just want people to be aware that when your power goes off, it is not always a matter of load shedding…There are several issues and there are some of them that fall at the doorsteps of ECG. We are doing as much as possible to solve the ones that we can,” Abubakar said in a radio interview on Accra-based Citi FM on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
“There aren’t any issues with shedding load. The load shed, I think is what people understand by ‘Dumsor’. But usually, when someone asks me if, there is Dumsor, I ask them what do you understand and what do you think ‘Dumsor’ means. Unfortunately, there wouldn’t be a timetable”, she stated.
Minority’s Accusations
Meanwhile the Minority in Parliament also insists the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is grappling with a huge debt of $1.5 billion.
According to the Ranking Member of the Energy Committee of Parliament, John Jinapor, the enormous debt is primarily due to ECG’s failure to meet its financial obligations to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and its inability to settle bills for purchased electricity in full.
Additionally, Mr. Jinapor criticised ECG for what he sees as wasteful spending on items like cables, malfunctioning meters, and what he considers unnecessary contracts.
Jinapor stated that a report he has analysed from the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) indicates that ECG allegedly mismanaged funds and diverting significant sums away from debt repayment to other expenditures.
“ECG owes $1.5 billion, when they take the money from Ghanaians, they fail to pay the IPPs and use the funds to do whatever they want with it and they fail to pay the full price of the power they purchase and PURC has brought a report that when ECG comes in possession of a substantial amount of money they refuse to pay the debt they owe, they spend the money recklessly, and this is an official report from the PURC,” he said in an interview with Joy News.
“Some of the things they buy, they don’t even need it, and now they want to be buying fuel, which is not even their core duty, all these are a reason the finances aren’t adding up,” he said.
Source: Myxyzonline.com
