The blame game over inconsistent power supply, known in local parlance as ‘dumsor’, is far from over as power distributors Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and Power Distribution Services (PDS) continue to be at each other’s throat.
PDS, the main distributor of power in Southern Ghana on April 18, 2019, blamed a nationwide power outage on GRIDCo.
In a statement copied to Adomonline.com, it explained that, the ‘dumsor’ experienced nationwide was “due to unstable power supply from GRIDCo.”
READ: PDS blames GRIDCo for recent ‘dumsor’
But, GRIDCo in a riposte said PDS cannot blame its inefficiencies on some minor technical hitches it experienced during a bad weather.
An executive member of the GRIDCo Senior Staff Association, Kwadwo Asante on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem, Friday said they are not the cause of ‘dumsor.’
He explained that whenever they experience a minor technical hitch, it takes hours for it to be solved due to the sensitive nature of their machines.
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“One GRIDCo transmitter imported to Ghana cost $1.5 million and takes about 150 gallons of crude to power it so when something happens, we need time to resolve it but this delay will never cause ‘dumsor’.”
A livid Mr Asante said PDS is not to blame for the gaffe since most of their [PDS] transformers can be bought from the ‘Makola market.’
“PDS don’t have an issue with transformers because you can easily get their transformers at Makola so they think our problems are the same,” he stated in Twi.
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“Though we don’t have problems with power generation capacity, we have some problems with the transmission. The GRIDCo network is old and we have been unable to invest in high capacity lines because of financial difficulties,” he noted.
He bemoaned how they are not able
to operate at optimum level in the country due to government’s indebtedness to
GRIDCo.
The only way to save the country from another power crisis, Mr Asante added is for the government to settle its debt to enable them do regular maintenance.
Source: Ghana|Adomonline.com|Adwoa Gyasiwaa Agyeman
