Editorial: Suspension Of Electricity Export Is Commendable, But…

According to the Chairman of the Energy Committee in Parliament, Samuel Atta Akyea, President Akufo-Addo had directed the Volta River Authority (VRA) to curtail the export of electricity to neighbouring countries. The directive, according to the Legislator, is in response to the intermittent power outages that Ghanaians have been experiencing.

The Abuakwa South Member of Parliament told JoyNews TV on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 that the directive exhibits the President’s prioritisation of domestic energy requirements over potential profits from exporting electricity.

“The President is on top of the issues and I am even being educated that there is a command that our export of electricity to other countries should be curtailed. The President has an acute sense of the national need rather than making profits abroad, so that is a factor that would come and help,” he stated. The Abuakwa South MP stressed on the need for redirecting electricity generated for export back into the national grid to alleviate the ongoing power crisis.

Ghana exports power to neighbouring countries like Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso. In 2020, nearly 1,000 gigawatt hours of electrical energy were exported to Burkina Faso and the export to Benin reached a total of 149.37 gigawatt hours in the same year. In 2022, electricity demands were around 21.7 thousand gigawatt hours, increasing from an estimated amount of about 20.3 thousand gigawatt hours in the previous year.

We commend the government for directing that electricity exportation be curtailed, considering the recent power outages. This is an example of cutting your coat according to your cloth.

There is no logic for Ghana to continue exporting power to her neighbours when its generation has dwindled, with occasioning power outages.

Though the exportation was generating some revenue for the economy, circumstances demand that we sacrifice that money to deal with the crisis at home first.

The Chronicle, however, hopes that by this act the government of Ghana has not breached the contracts signed with these countries to supply them with power. If this is the case, then it could lead to the payment of judgement debts, running into several millions of dollars, which will worsen the already precarious economic situation.

Whilst we wait for the government to address these contractual issues, there are claims that the energy sector is facing problems due to the inability of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to pay the independent power producers. This means that should the ECG finally offset the debt it owes these power producers, there will no more be power outages.

However, if the issue is technical, then the government must come out to explain to the consumers the extent of the problem and the actions being taken to resolve it. The politics of the energy sector challenges are not those that will help solve them, but rather a sincere and unbiased assessment of the issue and the implementation of pragmatic solutions.

The Chronicle is happy to hear that all major stakeholders in the energy sector will be appearing before Parliament’s Energy Committee on Saturday, April 6, 2024 to discuss the power outages, according to Mr. Atta Akyea, who chairs the committee. We totally agree with his position that meeting all key players in the energy value chain would allow the stakeholders to comprehensively address the issues on hand.

 

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