Power outages to persist a while longer – VRA boss

Electricity supply and distribution has suffered a lot of setbacks over the years

The Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Kwaku Awortwi, has given the strongest indication yet that problems with the transmission of electricity will persist as long as the system remains obsolete.

“The system is as strong as its weakest link; so if you have a lot of weak links that haven't been invested in for 40 years, what happens is you have all sorts of problems popping up in unexpected places…I think that's what the system faces today,” he said.

“We've done the investment in generation; we need to do the same investment in transmission and then distribution. The system itself is changing, which also means coordination is also becoming a challenge.”

Mr Awortwi said this in an interview with Joy Business' Israel Laryea after a joint meeting between the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO) and the Volta River Authority (VRA).

The meeting sought to find a sustainable solution to the recent power outages that have hit the country.

According to the three utility companies, the outages are a manifestation of the problems in the power supply system mainly because most of the equipment in use right now are old, obsolete and are serving too many people than was ever envisaged.

Mr Awortwi however hinted that efforts are currently being made to ensure better distribution of electricity in the country “as we put in investment and as we look for ways to coordinate our maintenance of the system."

The three companies announced a number of projects to fix the myriad of problems and eventually give the system a facelift.

The facelift, the first such major rehabilitation of the entire supply system, should take a number of years.

They, however, explain thaat electricity users would have to bear with them over the next six months, especially, as that phase of the project will be quite inconveniencing before it gets a lot better.

The Chief Executive of GRIDCO, Charles Darku, said its outfit is currently intensifying patrols along distribution lines to ensure faults are quickly identified and fixed.

The Electricity Company of Ghana has also indicated that it is carrying out similar projects in the distribution chain for which reason its contractors are digging across streets and pavements all over the country.

Play attached audio for voices of Messrs Awortwi and Darku