Ghana's dumsor predates WAPCo’s gas supply challenges - IES tells GRIDCo, ECG

Xatse Derick Emmanuel, a research and policy analyst at the Institute for Energy Security (IES), has stated that Ghana's power challenges cannot be attributed solely to the gas supply shortage announced by the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCO).

According to him, Ghana's incessant power disruptions have been the result of a power deficit of about 600 MW since the beginning of 2024.

The research and policy analyst's statement comes in the wake of a recent joint press release issued by the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), where the power companies announced a three-week power outage due to ongoing maintenance works on the gas pipelines in Nigeria.

He said, "Credible data available, representing total system power generation at peak periods (10 pm), shows that Ghana has been experiencing power generation deficits throughout this year. This was evident even before WAPCO's announcement, which is expected to further increase the generation deficits (more dumsor)."

"As of December 26, 2023, Ghana's system peak load stood at 3,618 MW, representing a 4.3% increase from the 2022 recorded peak demand. In 2024, the system peak load is estimated to be 3,788 MW, reflecting a 4.7% increase from 2023," according to the Energy Commission report 2024.

This means that Ghana's peak demand is expected to be around 3,788 MW. Therefore, any power generation below 3,788 MW will result in dumsor.