The pace at which water in the Akosombo Dam is receding indicates that the country’s energy problems are far from over and that another crisis would be more severe than the one which ended recently.The water level had gone down from 256 ft to 255.88 as at yesterday Tuesday, November 27. Unfortunately the country would not be expecting any heavy rainfall until March or April next year.

Aside these, the current warm climatic condition does not suggest there would be any unexpected rainfall before the harmattan sets in. With this situation, it would be better for policy-makers to start putting measures in place to forestall a more severe energy crisis. The hardship which the country went through for 14 months is still at the back of our minds. The Ad hoc programmes the government instituted during the period cost the country huge sums of money and that affected the nation’s development agenda. Indeed, the gains made during the period were eroded by the crisis.

The installation of thermal plants, the procurement of generating plants by some mining companies, banks and individuals and the beginning of the construction of the Bui Dam were all in the right direction.Since most of them were not planned ahead, they became very expensive and some were even alleged to be items which the country did not need at that time. Due to the urgent need at that time, everything in the name of generator was installed. Now the government has enough time and experience to decide what it needs to do to forestall the severe energy crisis. For a start, the government has started distributing energy-saving bulbs in various parts of the country, but that is just a small part of the solution to the problem.

The government has at least six more months to prepare adequately before the crisis rears its ugly head. From now till April or May, the government must put prudent policies in place to forestall the crisis. Daily Guide appeals to all stakeholders in energy conservation to ensure that the unfortunate situation does not occur again, even if there are not enough rains.