The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has attributed the recent power outages in parts of Accra and other regions to maintenance issues.
According to the Managing Director of ECG, Samuel Dubik Mahama, the company has recently grappled with issues of maintenance rather than fuel-related problems.
The Minority Spokesperson on Mines and Energy, John Jinapor, said the recent power outages were due to the government’s inability to purchase fuel for the country’s thermal plants.
Speaking in Parliament on February 29, Mr. Jinapor highlighted the persistent and consistent load shedding by the country’s power generation companies.
Numerous communities have faced unpredictable power supply for several weeks without prior notice from ECG.
However, Mr. Mahama addressing the matter said the ongoing issues are primarily associated with major maintenance concerns rather than fuel shortages.
He assured that ECG is diligently working to resolve the challenges and restore power to affected areas.
“We are having major maintenance issues, the issue we are having now has nothing to do with fuel. You are relying on a power plant that is to give you about 360 megawatts then around 4 pm the gas emergency safety valve has a problem. What do you do? It is a machine.
“The machine failed us and we kept o saying that it’s a machine issue that we were trying to fix”.
Mr. Mahama acknowledged the impact of the machinery failure on the power supply, expressing regret over the lack of timely communication with the public.
“I must apologize to Ghanaians because when it started we should have had the confidence to have a chat with everybody and put forth a statement,” he said in an interview on Starr FM on February 29.