{"id":50272,"date":"2014-09-23T10:37:22","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T10:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=50272"},"modified":"2014-09-23T15:04:59","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T15:04:59","slug":"i-cant-say-when-dumsor-will-end-energy-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/09\/i-cant-say-when-dumsor-will-end-energy-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"I can’t say when \u2018dumsor\u2019 will end \u2013 Energy Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Minister of Energy, Emmanuel Kofi Buah has told Citi News <\/strong>he is unable to make specific pronouncement on when the current load shedding exercise will end.<\/p>\n

This is despite government’s earlier claim that the labour unrest in Nigeria, which affected gas supply to Ghana had worsened the power crisis in Ghana.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gas supply to Ghana has resumed but the situation has still not changed, and the Electricity Company of Ghana has released a \u00a0load shedding time table<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0 to guide consumers.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the\u00a0Citi Breakfast Show<\/strong>\u00a0on Tuesday the Minister said,\u00a0“I wont give a specific date because there are a lot of factors that we are working on that are beyond your control and my control and depends on all of us working together to meet the realities of Ghanaians.”<\/p>\n

[contextly_sidebar id=”lPYDtpM8bxDAsnJzX3lrEupml2dY1q9P”]The Volta River Authority has also announced that it will cut back on power supply due to technical challenges.
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According to the VRA, this is as a result of the low water levels flowing into the Akosombo dam.<\/p>\n

The Energy Minister explained that the load shedding has become necessary due to the increasing demand for power supply.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor over three decades or four decades what has happened is that our demand for electricity has been increasing. Our economy is expanding, our population is growing and we are using more electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Buah said that government is striving to ensure consistent power supply for the citizenry.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing forward, the plan is to be aggressive in our power additioning to make sure that we are consistent but while we are doing that we are also addressing the issues of fuel\u201d<\/p>\n

Challenges associated with gas inflow<\/strong><\/p>\n

He noted that the plants at Akosombo have to be shut down anytime there is a low inflow of gas from Nigeria to Ghana.<\/p>\n

\u201cGas which we all know comes from Nigeria has not been forth coming. The contractual volumes on 123 million cubits has not been coming. We would have been lucky if we got 50 on an average day and sometimes it doesn\u2019t come and anytime it doesn\u2019t come like it didn\u2019t come last week, we immediately have to shut down plants”<\/p>\n

Challenges with Takoradi Plants<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Minister said some of the Takoradi plants are not able to function properly because they are not sent for repairs when maintenance is due.<\/p>\n

\u201csome of the plants have been running a lot, they run 24 hours and I must say that because of the time involved, occasionally when some of these plants are due for maintenance, it is difficult to bring them down,\u201d the Minister explained.<\/p>\n

He however stated that the Volta River Authority(VRA) is collaborating with other stakeholders to keep the plants in good shape.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that as we speak the VRA has brought partners to make sure they maintain these plants and I believe that this will help minimize the unavailability of these plants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Buah stated that Ghana will continue to experience shortfalls in its power supply until the water level in the Akosombo dam rises.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click on audio below to listen to Energy Minister, Kofi Buah\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n