Deputy Energy Minister

The Ministry of Energy has revealed the country is not surviving on numerous power plants procured by the erstwhile Mahama administration.

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According to them, the country will still have stable power if the Ameri and Karpower plants are shutdown.

Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, revealed this on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme on Friday.

He explained that, the government is bound to use former President Mahama’s power plants bought in the heat of the power crisis known in local parlance as ‘dumsor’ because it was on a “take or pay” basis.

“We are using Mahama’s plants because they committed us to take or pay contracts but it doesn’t mean we do not have other plants we can use,” he said.

The Deputy Energy Minister maintained that, the ‘dumsor’ crisis under Mr Mahama is “self-inflicted” because other plants like the Mines reserve power plants, Tema and Kpone Termal plants were functioning but government did not have money to buy fuel.

Under the Akufo-Addo government, Dr Adam said they have been able to buy fuel and these power plants are working in full capacity.

With the power purchasing agreement signed by the Mahama administration, he said the government is paying for over 41 percent excess capacity of “our total installed capacity.”

“In 2018, we paid $320 million as capacity charges for power we were not using negotiated by the National Democratic Congress (NDC),” the Deputy Energy Minister bemoaned.

Dr Adam said their record in the energy sector in just three years is unparalleled, thus, the NDC’s claim of mismanagement must be treated with the contempt it deserves.

Adomonline.com | Adwoa Gyasiwaa Agyeman