We've disbursed $10million to WAPCo for gas supply; there'll be no more 'dumsor' — Deputy Energy Minister
Deputy Energy Minister Andrew Egyapa Mercer has declared that the recent challenges leading to power outages in Ghana, commonly known as 'Dumsor,' have been fully resolved.
He assured the public that there would be no more intermittent power outages starting Thursday, January 11, 2024.
In an interview on Citi Breakfast Show on Citi FM, Mr. Mercer disclosed that the Ministry of Finance disbursed $10 million to the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAGPCo) on January 10, 2024, for gas supply.
This financial injection is expected to eliminate the issues causing the power outages, ensuring a consistent and uninterrupted power supply, according to Mr. Mercer.
Mr. Mercer explained the recent challenges, "What has happened over the past few days is that some obligation owed by GNPC to WAGPCo was an issue.
“WAGPCo threatened [and] GNPC made some initial payments [but] it wasn’t satisfactory. We requested the Ministry of Finance to top up. We had to go through some approval processes.
“As of yesterday [Wednesday] evening, the Ministry of Finance had approved a sum of 10 million to pay for a part of that debt.
“So that was the hiccup that we encountered that led to the power outages we encountered in the past few days. But that has been resolved."
He assured the public that "WAGPCo had committed to restoring the gas supply, and with the disbursement of funds, the power plants in the eastern corridor would receive the necessary fuel, eliminating the need for load shedding or 'dumsor.'”
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Security (IES), Nana Amoasi VII, had earlier highlighted financial challenges as the cause of recent outages.
He emphasized that addressing the financial obligations to key players in the energy sector, including WAGPCo, was crucial to preventing future disruptions.