The crippling power problems will return immediately after the general elections in December if President John Mahama and the NDC are retained in power, the New Patriotic Party has predicted.
This will result from an expected estimated 700 megawatts shortfall in power supply early next year, the NPP’s Director of Policy, Boakye Agyarko.
Ghana is currently importing 600,000 barrels of crude oil every month at the cost of about $30million to fire thermal plants to generate power.
Government is also purchasing power from Ivory Coast in what Deputy Power Minister John Jinapor says is strategic reasons.
Government over the years has said it is committed to fighting the age-old crisis and not to managing it as previous government did.
But the NPP at a media briefing on Tuesday said the National Democratic
Congress government has failed in resolving the persistent energy crisis as it promised in 2012.
“The President promised to solve ‘dumsor’ within his first four years in office, he ended up claiming the record for the longest sustained power crisis in our nation’s history, five straight years of dumsor,” Boakye Agyarko indicated.
He warned voters that the importation of crude to fire thermal plants and the purchasing of power from Ivory Coast is to supply consistent power to the people in order to win more votes in the upcoming elections.
He said the government has not demonstrated it has any measure of control in addressing the problem as according to Mr Agyarko, gas supply to Nigeria may not be resumed any time soon due to the non-payment of an outstanding debt.
In addition, he said: “Gas supply from the Jubilee Oil Fields will stop as the FPSO is expected to shut down for repairs for a period of three to six months therefore with these developments, Asogli and AMERI power plants will not be able to generate power.”
He indicated that the importation of power from Cotê d’Ivoire will not be possible by next year because that country would be in the dry season by then and will not be able to supply Ghana with power as it is currently doing, hence the projection by the party that the country will return to shedding load immediately after the elections.
Mr. Agyarko indicated that the NPP if given the mandate in the upcoming elections will strengthen governance of the power sector whilst providing institutions like GRIDCO, ECG better tools to operate at their fullest capacities.
“An Akufo-Addo government, God willing will shred into irretrievable pieces John Dramani Mahama’s reckless technical move to export all our gas in return for $2 billion,” Mr. Agyarko assured.
He said an Akufo-Addo-led government among other things, will negotiate with its counterpart in Nigeria and with the West African Gas Pipeline to restore the gas supply from Nigeria.
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