Government convenes emergency meeting with energy sector players over power crisis

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has held an emergency meeting today, 8th January 2025, to address ongoing challenges in the country’s power sector. This follows growing concerns about an impending energy crisis due to a lack of fuel reserves for power generation.

The meeting, chaired by Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, was attended by the Executive Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama; former Deputy Finance Minister and Majority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson; former Energy Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah; and former Deputy Energy Minister, John Jinapor.

Key players in the energy sector present included Dr Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor, CEO of the Chamber of Independent Power Producers of Ghana; Managing Director of Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited (BOST), Dr Edwin Provencal; and representatives from the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), GRIDCo, Sunon Asogli, and Cenpower, among others.

Maintenance Activities and Energy Supply Impact

In a brief media engagement after the meeting, Director of Systems Operations at the Ghana Grid Company Limited, Frank Asirifi Otchere, disclosed that the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) is undertaking a month-long power plant maintenance exercise, which will affect gas supply.

He noted:

West African Gas Pipeline Company informed us about some plant maintenance activity that has to be carried out on the gas pipeline running from Nigeria, which supplies gas to Ghana. This, as they explained, is a critical maintenance exercise required after a certain number of operational hours to ensure the integrity of the pipeline.

Now, this work requires that the section of the pipeline supplying gas to power plants in Tema will be shut down during the maintenance period. The timeline they provided for this maintenance is about one month.

Otchere further disclosed that alternative measures, including the purchase of liquid fuels, are being explored to minimise the impact on the country’s energy supply.

He added:

Because the gas supply to the Tema plants is going to be shut down, it is necessary that we procure some liquid fuels for the plants in Tema to run. This will ensure we continue to have adequate supply even during the period of maintenance.

“What we came to inform the government about is that, yes, there are some liquid fuels available, but it is not enough to cover the entire duration of the maintenance.”

Government's Response and Roadmap

Also addressing the media, Presidential Spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu revealed that a technical committee has been set up to tackle the situation.

He stated:

A technical committee has been set up that has representatives from all the key players in the management of Ghana's energy sector, and they have up until the close of day to day to put before Ghana roadmap on what exactly needs to be done and how it can be done.

The government has assured Ghanaians of its commitment to resolving the crisis promptly and ensuring uninterrupted power supply during this period.

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