President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has acknowledged the plight of Ghanaians amidst the recent power outages.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Kumasi 1 Thermal Plant in the Ashanti Region on Wednesday, April 17, the president expressed gratitude to Ghanaians for their patience through the incessant power cuts.
The Kumasi 1 Thermal Plant is a major part of the government’s efforts to ensure sustainable electricity supply, particularly in the Ashanti Region.
He added that the government is working tirelessly to address the challenge.
“I do acknowledge, Minister for Energy, ladies and gentlemen, and Nananom, the challenges that the people of Ashanti and indeed other parts of the country have had to endure in very recent times over the supply of power. And I can only thank you for the patience you have exhibited in the face of these challenges,” the president said.
Ghanaians have been experiencing unstable power supply in various parts of the country since February 2024.
Consequently, the Minority in Parliament, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and Energy Sector Players have called on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to issue a load-shedding timetable to help citizens plan their daily activities.
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However, the national power distributor ECG said the company was not undertaking any load shedding that requires a timetable.
The company attributed the power outages to some 630 overloaded distribution transformers across the country.
In a statement dated Monday, March 11, 2024, ECG said the transformers are at full capacity due to increased demand.
However, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has refuted the electricity provider’s claim.
PURC said a visit to the said transformers showed no sign of overload.
“We have gone out to all the transformers, at least a majority of the transformers and it is turning out to be that those transformers were not overloaded,” Ishmael Edjekumhene, a Commissioner of PURC said.