Electricity consumers will have to experience erratic power outages for some time because of instability in power generation.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr Dan Adjei Larbi, the company had still not received a specific quantum of megawatts for the load shedding from the generators to make projections and plans.
He said the ECG was, therefore, unable to plan a load-shedding timetable for consumers.
Mr Larbi, explained in an interview, that the company needed a specific quantum of power to be able to draw a timetable for the load shedding, adding that the power providers were working to address the situation and come up with a timetable in due course.
Meanwhile, the Volta River Authority (VRA) has given an assurance that repair and maintenance works on the Aboadze Thermal Plant which resulted in the shedding of about 400 megawatts of power are expected to be completed by July this year.
According to the Corporate Communications Manager of the VRA, Mr Sam Fletcher, the authority was uncertain about the time to end the power outages.
However, he said the maintenance and repair works on the Aboadze Thermal Plant, when completed in July, would generate more than 400 megawatts of power.
In March this year, the ECG announced a load-shedding exercise that was accompanied by a timetable to inform the public when to expect power outages in their vicinities.
While the VRA, at that time, blamed the supply of gas from the West African Gas Company for power generation shortfalls, in April this year the providers announced a marginal improvement in power generation, raising high the hopes of consumers.
However, consumers’ hope of having constant supply of power has been dashed, as supply over the past weeks has remained epileptic in nature. This has left consumers in limbo, with information from providers being at large.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), the regulators of the service providers, has declared its intention to sanction the three power providers for their inability to make available information to the public on the current supply of power in the country.
The commission has communicated its intention to the VRA, the ECG and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo).
The three providers have up to tomorrow to explain to the PURC the nature of supply and their inability to make available ready information on the total megawatts being shed.
According to him, the machines that had been shut down normally generated about 500 megawatts and, therefore, on completion it would close the generation deficit of about 300 megawatts which had resulted in the load shedding exercise.
Some of the machines, he noted, had been shut down for the past two months for repair works to go on, while others were recently shut down for maintenance.
For instance, he said, two gas turbine units at the Aboadze Thermal Plant which produce 100 megawatts each had been closed down for repairs.
“The challenges we have to go through every now and then when we have to do maintenance are because the country does not have a power reserve yet,” he stated.
He said the ECG was, therefore, unable to plan a load-shedding timetable for consumers.
Mr Larbi, explained in an interview, that the company needed a specific quantum of power to be able to draw a timetable for the load shedding, adding that the power providers were working to address the situation and come up with a timetable in due course.
Meanwhile, the Volta River Authority (VRA) has given an assurance that repair and maintenance works on the Aboadze Thermal Plant which resulted in the shedding of about 400 megawatts of power are expected to be completed by July this year.
According to the Corporate Communications Manager of the VRA, Mr Sam Fletcher, the authority was uncertain about the time to end the power outages.
However, he said the maintenance and repair works on the Aboadze Thermal Plant, when completed in July, would generate more than 400 megawatts of power.
Background
Ghanaians across the country have been experiencing power outages for the past months.In March this year, the ECG announced a load-shedding exercise that was accompanied by a timetable to inform the public when to expect power outages in their vicinities.
While the VRA, at that time, blamed the supply of gas from the West African Gas Company for power generation shortfalls, in April this year the providers announced a marginal improvement in power generation, raising high the hopes of consumers.
However, consumers’ hope of having constant supply of power has been dashed, as supply over the past weeks has remained epileptic in nature. This has left consumers in limbo, with information from providers being at large.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), the regulators of the service providers, has declared its intention to sanction the three power providers for their inability to make available information to the public on the current supply of power in the country.
The commission has communicated its intention to the VRA, the ECG and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo).
The three providers have up to tomorrow to explain to the PURC the nature of supply and their inability to make available ready information on the total megawatts being shed.
Machines shut down
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Fletcher said some of the machines, including gas turbines, had broken down and were being repaired, while others were maintained to ensure that they worked properly.According to him, the machines that had been shut down normally generated about 500 megawatts and, therefore, on completion it would close the generation deficit of about 300 megawatts which had resulted in the load shedding exercise.
Some of the machines, he noted, had been shut down for the past two months for repair works to go on, while others were recently shut down for maintenance.
For instance, he said, two gas turbine units at the Aboadze Thermal Plant which produce 100 megawatts each had been closed down for repairs.
Flow of gas
Mr Fletcher also noted that the power outages were not caused by the shortage of gas, saying, “We have enough gas coming from Nigeria. Our gas report as of Monday, May 26, 2014 indicated that Nigerian supplied 97 million cubic feet of gas.”“The challenges we have to go through every now and then when we have to do maintenance are because the country does not have a power reserve yet,” he stated.
No comments:
Post a Comment