The presidential nominee of the All People’s Congress (APC), Mr Hassan Ayariga, has promised to end the erratic energy situation (dumsor) that has bedevilled the country for years, should he win the December 7 presidential election.

Speaking at the launch of his party’s 2016 manifesto in Accra on Thursday, 6 October, Mr Ayariga said the energy sector in the country had been badly managed by both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the years and that the poor management of the sector had led to generation shortfalls, corrupt procurements, frequent power cuts, inefficiencies, and unsustainable debts.

“These problems have led to years of dumsor and brought devastation to our industries, particularly small businesses. Dumsor has also caused job losses, income losses, unnecessary deaths, disrupted life, and destroyed countless electrical appliances of businesses and homes. As a matter of priority, the APC will work towards paying off VRA’s debts, and reorganising its management to ensure it focuses on its mandate,” he noted.

“The APC’s industrial plan is anchored on available, reliable and affordable energy services. We will develop an energy economy that will ensure that all Ghanaian homes and industries have access to an adequate, reliable, affordable and environmentally sustainable supply of energy to meet their needs and that this reliable energy supply will support the accelerated growth and development agenda we envisage for Ghana.”

He listed the plans of his future government as follows:

a. APC will end “DUMSOR” in the short-term through government liquidity injection, restructuring of debts, and securing of firm commitments for the reliable supply of fuel.

b. We will reduce taxes on electricity tariffs to provide immediate relief to households and industry.

c. We will develop and implement a 10-year Power Sector Master Plan to meet our medium to long-term energy needs.

d. We will conduct a technical audit on all power sector infrastructure.

e. We will develop and implement an Energy Sector Financial Restructuring and Recovery Plan, incorporating a liquidity management mechanism for VRA, ECG, NED and the BDCs.

f. We will increase the proportion of renewable energy – solar, biomass, mini-hydro, wind and waste-to-energy in the national generation mix.

g. We will explore the possibility of geothermal and tidal wave energy.

h. We will rapidly move to the adoption of a distributed solar energy solution plan for all government and public buildings.

i. We will ensure that there is sufficient Reserve Margin – the safety cushion we need to prevent blackouts – to ensure the stability of the system.

j. We will create an environment of clear policies, rules and regulations, and provide adequate price incentives to attract private sector investments.

k. We will aggressively pursue energy conservation and the efficient use of energy including reduction of transmission losses.

l. We will ensure that energy is produced and used in an environmentally sound manner.

m. We will restructure the power sector by bringing all hydro generation exclusively under VRA and create a thermal subsidiary.