Investment dearth cause of 'dumsor'

Minister of Power Dr Kwabena Donkor has said Ghana’s current energy crisis is the result of failure by past governments to invest in the power sector.

According to him, despite the worsening energy crisis, the government is committed to providing lasting solutions to the crisis.

Speaking in Parliament Friday, the Pru East MP said "the challenge arises largely out of under-investment in the sector over a number of years spanning at least a decade."

He noted that although it has been difficult to fix the problem, government's interventions are beginning to yield results.

The under-fire Minister, who is racing with time to fix the crisis before the end of the year, as he promised in February this year, said expansion work on the Takoradi International Company (TICO) plant, which has added 120 megawatts through the addition of a steam component, has been completed.

He added that the Takoradi Power Company (TAPCO) expansion work, which has added 110 megawatts to the national grid, has also been completed.

Additionally, he mentioned that the phase two expansion work on the 350-megawatt Sunon Asogli power plant is half way through, and will add at least 120 megawatts to the national grid by the end of the year.

In his words: “The Karpower barge is … in our territorial waters and we expect that by the beginning of next week, it would have safely landed at the Tema fishing harbour for connection work to the national grid to begin”.