Ghana’s current power crisis, while concerning, is not as severe as the previous one under former President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, according to Professor Stephen Adei, former Rector of GIMPA.
However, he warns that the situation could escalate if not effectively addressed. In a TV3 interview on April 23, 2024, Professor Adei emphasized the need to tackle existing bottlenecks hindering optimal capacity utilization and advocated for a national strategic agenda.
To address the issue, Professor Adei suggested immediate duty-free importation of solar panels to facilitate a shift towards solar energy.
He also stressed the importance of enhancing the efficiency of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for long-term sustainability.
“”So, the first thing is that to look at, if there are bottlenecks which are not allowing us to use the existing capacity to the fullest, must be addressed. But in the long run, we must have a national strategic agenda. “You can go solar, immediately the government should allow all solar panels and anything to do with it import-free because in the end the country and the government will win. “We must have a strategy to make sure that we have a long-term solution and the efficiency of the ECG has to improve,” he added.
Ghanaians have been experiencing incessant power cuts since late 2023, disrupting businesses and daily activities.
While some citizens believe ‘dumsor’ (power crisis) is back, government officials claim the outages are not a result of ‘dumsor’ and argue that a timetable is unnecessary.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has ordered ECG to provide a timetable, which ECG has rejected along with the accompanying fine.
