Ghanaians plunged into further darkness

For the many Ghanaians who might have come to terms with the erratic power situation which has plagued the country over the past three years, and are adjusting accordingly, a further decline in the situation would be a major test of their patience.

At least, in the next few days, the power situation in the country will get worse as the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has directed the power distributor, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), to further shed a total of 390 megawatts of power.

According to the new management schedule, Accra will be the worst affected, as ECG would be shedding some 130MW.

Power to the Ashanti Region is also to be reduced by (80MW), Tema (60MW), Western (40MW), Central (30MW), Eastern (30MW) and Volta (20MW).

The directive to the ECG is due to the insufficient power being generated in the country following some technical challenges with the Volta River Authority’s (VRA) power plants in the Western Region and other parts of the country.

The implications of a further decline in the power situation is that already-comatose businesses reeling under high operating cost due to the use of alternative power for their businesses would have no option but to fold up.

Many businesses have had to fold up over the period while thousands of workers have been laid off due to the worsening power situation in the country.

A few months ago, about 650 members of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) were laid off as a result of the energy crisis and cedi depreciation.

The Coca-Cola Bottling Company also laid off over 250 employees not long ago as part of efforts to enable it stay in business.

Meanwhile, an emergency power barge which is expected to help improve the current situation is expected to set sail today, and docks in Ghana in the next 10 days.