Government's inability to pay IPPs, others cause of 'dumsor' - Dr Pelpuo

Member of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, Dr Rashid Pelpuo, has attributed the cause of the erratic power supply in recent times to the government's inability to settle the compounding debts owed the Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

He noted that the source of power in the country was private-sector driven and that clearing all outstanding debts due the power generators would lead to a stable power supply.

In an interview with Citi News, Dr Rashid Pelpuo said the current crisis in the energy sector was a result of poor management by the government.

He said “It [dumsor] is not because we have not privatised [ECG] that is why the challenge is coming. It is because the government has mismanaged its responsibility to the power agencies. The government is failing to pay the private sector that is providing the light because the source of power is private sector-driven."

"The Independent Power Producers, the government is unable to pay them their debts. ECG is unable to pay them. So I don’t think that the issue now is about ECG not being privatised," he added.

Dr Pelpuo further said, “We have managed it from independence to now. The challenge is the irresponsibility of the government and the poor management of the governance system of power supply and power generation. So we have a problem, and the heart of the problem is the governance of this country.”

Parts of the country have been experiencing sporadic power cuts, otherwise known as 'dumsor' in recent months.

Though the power distribution company - Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) - has attributed the intermittent power supply to technical challenges, some Ghanaians and institutions including the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) think otherwise.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in March directed the Electricity Company of Ghana to furnish it with a load management timetable by April 2, 2024.

ECG’s management in reaction maintained that the power outages stem from technical difficulties and that no formal load-shedding schedule will be implemented.

PURC subsequently fined ECG board members GH¢5.8 million for power cut violations.

SA/EK