By Ebi Kesiena
Ghana is experiencing an uncommon power outage plunging parts of the country into darkness.
The country’s power utility company, Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), explained that the situation, which started late Thursday evening was due to limited gas supply to one of the country’s major power plants.
In a statement, GRIDCo said There would be “a supply gap of 550 MW at peak time,”.
Furthermore, GRIDCo, the power operator, said “the inconvenience caused is deeply regretted”. Although, the power utility firm did not mention how long it would take for electricity to be restored.
Ghana has been facing electricity shortages for years. It generates most of its power from hydro and thermal sources.
Reacting to the power outage, Cyril Adu, who lives in the capital Accra, said his biggest concern is the impact this outage could have on his business.
‘’I am a film maker and need electricity to work. All through last night and into this morning, there has not been electricity. It’s bad enough that the economy is not so great, but to compound our challenges even more with this latest development is simply unfair,’’ he said.
Last July, Ghana’s independent power producers (IPPs) threatened a shutdown over arrears owed to them, but they suspended the planned strike after reaching an interim deal with the state-run Electricity Company of Ghana.
In late May, the IPPs rejected a government proposal to restructure $1.58 billion in arrears owed them by the state as part of the West African nation’s efforts to implement a $3 billion loan deal from the International Monetary Fund.
