The Minister of Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, has dismissed suggestions of a power crisis despite intermittent blackouts and low voltage reported in some parts of the country.
His comments come in response to criticism from a section of the public and some energy analysts who argue that he has focused too much on challenges since assuming office, instead of proposing lasting solutions.
The minister recently told Parliament’s Energy Committee that the country had only 2.6 days’ worth of liquid fuel to power thermal plants.
While the disclosure alarmed some observers, Jinapor said it was part of efforts to promote transparency and inform the legislature about the situation.
“I didn’t say we will have a challenge; I didn’t say we have a crisis. We are not in crisis; we are doing fairly well. Yes, we have challenges, but that is why we were voted into power — to solve those challenges,” he explained in an interview on Citi FM on Monday, May 19.
“Parliament also wanted the statistics of all our fuel stocks, and I gave them to them. I also went further to say that we have ordered fuel, and we are getting that today to replace what we have in stock,” he added.
The minister pointed to specific interventions made to address emerging threats in the energy sector.
“The facts are that Karpowership threatened to shut down, and we resolved the matter. That’s not grumbling; that’s solving the problem. It is sitting around the table to find the solution,” he said.
Jinapor noted that the current load shedding was due to a shortfall of about 70 to 80 megawatts and assured that government was implementing medium- to long-term measures to improve stability in the sector.
“Before the committee, I gave them all the statistics. Then I moved on to tell them the challenges and also the moves to solve the challenges. For instance, we have inaugurated the gas processing committee to work on building gas processing plants so that we don’t depend on liquid fuel,” he stated.
He stressed that sharing facts should not be mistaken for pessimism. “I understand grumbling very well, and I don’t think that when you appear before a committee and you present facts, they term that as grumbling — unless, as a minister, I needed to hide that fact,” he said.
Touching on efforts to restructure the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), he said, “ECG said they want private sector participation. We have inaugurated a committee, they’ve done stakeholder consultations, and now we have to move on to implementation. That is not grumbling. It is dealing with the challenges.”