The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is expected to release a new load shedding time table for the Industrial zones across the country before close of this week.
Authorities at the ECG who pleaded anonymity confirmed this to Citi Busines News.
The business community led by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) is pushing for a load shedding schedule to enable them plan and cut down on losses.
[contextly_sidebar id=”aQP7GENDFL1tfJkkSwY4GHCY4PijF51x”]The President of the AGI, James Asare Adjei told Citi Business News that: “we do not wish to see a further worsening in this energy situation.”
“What we are asking for is that the various electricity suppliers VRA, GRIDCO ECG must put up a workable timetable. It is very challenging but we have to cope with to ensure that we don’t run our power installations to a total halt,” he added.
He said they have explained to “the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum on the challenges we are facing currently regarding power availability. It is a necessary evil because the challenges appear for all to see.”
Power producers and distributors in Ghana, namely: the Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and the ECG have been struggling to meet the energy needs of the country due to the inconsistent water level in the Akosombo dam.
Other measures put in place to augment the system including the usage of gas is yet to have any major impact in the power sector. These and other reasons compelled the ECG to release a load shedding timetable, but there have been complaints about the inconsistencies in the schedule.
“We are private sector operators and anything that will bring untold hardship in terms of cost, we cannot bear. If the way out is to shed job or employment there is no more we can do. What is very important is that as a country we need to get our priorities right. We need to find solution to this cyclical effect of power outages and energy insufficiency and when we do that we expect that our businesses will bounce back and also contribute to the growth of the economy, ”said Mr Adjei.
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin