Mahama rehashed old promises on energy crisis -ACEP

African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) is unimpressed by the President's steps to solve the current power crisis, saying he provided no immediate solutions.

ACEP's Ben Boakye told Joy News, the elaborate plans by the president are only achievable in medium and long terms but not ones that will provide relief within three months.

President Mahama at the 2015 State of the Nation address says his approach to the current power crisis is not to manage it as past governments have done, but to fix it once and for all.

“I do not intend to manage the situation as has been done in the past, I intend to fix it. I, John Dramani Mahama will fix this energy challenge”, he told an attentive Parliament Wednesday morning

The President is promising to add 3,665megawatts by 2016.The most immediate plan which is a reliance on emergency power barges expected in April is not realistic, the energy expert said.

The 450 megawatts power barges from Turkey and 220 from Dubai were announced by government as emergency reliefs.

But ACEP puts the addition of a combine 670megawatts to the national grid as realistic only by August - not April as government has been insisting.

He said although the power barges is expected to be located at Tema, the berthing place of the power ships have not been prepared two months to government's promised deadline of April.