Help resolve power issues if you can - Jinapor calls on experts

The Deputy Minister for Energy and Petroleum, John Abu Jinapor has cautioned Ghanaians to desist from giving names to power problems as and when they arise.

He further explained that “the recent power outages is due to deficit arising from fuel shortage and not ‘Dumsor’ or Load shedding as some populace claim, meaning some power plants that generate electricity for consumption do not get the required crude oil they need to generate the amount of power expected from them.”

Speaking in an interview on PEACE FM’s ‘kokrokoo’, he noted that “Ghana is still suffering to get much crude oil to feed its consumers. This is because a report sent to his Ministry from the Volta River Authority (VRA) shows that for now; it is only Nigeria that can supply us with the kind of crude oil we use.

". .So far that is the information I have from VRA. . . they say people have brought fuel in but the Sulphur and Valadium content is too high . . . we are doing various sampling and testing so any expert who can help with any fuel that the VRA can use should not hesitate to contact the Ministry," he explained.

He said the they have never had this Force majeure challenge before as such they are forced to look at other sources across the globe.

"This is a rare occurence," he said.

According to him what the Ministry have planned doing is to place early orders before the current crude oil in use gets finish even though this practice would cost the state huge amount of money, but would also make life comfortable for citizens.

John Jinapor urged persons or experts in the Oil Industry to on getting knowledge of crude oil from elsewhere that can fit into Ghana's system and the conditions under which we live, to call the attention of the Ministry for further discussions.

He emphasized that this type of energy crisis we are facing presently does not call for a load management time table as most citizens have demanded, because its issue is not the type that would take long months to be repaired.

“This current erratic power supply is beyond immediate control, but I promise it would end by the close of this week,” he told Kwame Sefa Kayi.