Can GRIDCo realistically end the current 'dumsor' by September?

An energy expert, Benjamin Boakye, has spoken on the September 2021 date issued by the Ghana Grid Company Limited, GRIDCo, to end the current intermittent power supply to parts of the country.

Boakye, who is Executive Director of the Africa Center for Energy Policy, ACEP; said it would be hard for anyone without knowledge of the inner workings of the power transmission system to say whether or not the date was realistic.

Speaking on Citi TV’s Point of View program on Monday evening, he said the best that could be done was to hope that all things go right with the system upgrades that have occasioned the supply challenges.

Asked about the realistic nature of the deadline, he responded: “That is difficult for us to predict because we are not the system managers. The system managers have got timelines they are working with, we can only give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that they are able to deliver.

"Because it comes with following commitments and ensuring that there aren’t any last-minute setbacks that could derail the plan of activity."

Boakye further stressed the expected coming on stream of two Bulk Supply Points, BSPs, by August, latest September, which projects – at Pokuase and Kasoa – he said were guaranteed to be delivered because of their source of funding.

“We are told that Pokuase and Kasoa for example, that project can come on by August ending or September. We have some level of confidence in those projects because as far as funding is concerned, it is guaranteed because it is coming from a donor.

“The MCC project or Compact II, as part of that compact, we have some funding to develop those transmission infrastructures so we are guaranteed that funding will be available so beyond any unforeseen circumstances, those projects should be delivered,” he added.

GRIDCo’s September end to ‘dumsor’ <>

Last week, the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) assured Ghanaians that the current intermittent supply of electricity being tagged 'dumsor' in some quarters will be solved by September this year when its system upgrade is completed.

GRIDCo through its Director of Operations, Michael Baah, told journalists that the upgrade is “expected to be completed by 2021 with all things being equal, if we do not have any hindrances then we are going to complete it by September”.

In explaining some of the challenges that could affect the deadline he said: “Whenever we are constructing a line like this, we normally meet some crossings like ECG lines and maybe obstacles like houses.

“For the ECG line because it is also an electrical system, we must make sure we give an outage to be able to cross the line, else there would be an induction and people might suffer from that.”