Following the on-going planned maintenance and upgrade of systems by the Ghana Grid Company, GRIDCo, and the Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG, the Chamber of Independent Power Producers is urging government to come out with a timetable for the imminent power outages the country is currently experiencing.
According to the Chamber, the present power challenge is disturbing and therefore a schedule will enable consumers to be able to plan properly.
Their call comes barely a day after the Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, appealed to Ghanaians to bear with GRIDCo, as it works to complete the upgrading of its systems by September this year.
In an interview with Citi Business News, monitored by A1 radio the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Independent Power Producers, Elikplim Apetorgbor, urged government to publish a timetable for the rationing of power.
“We are in business because of the consumers. The entire value chain deserves the best of customer service. Distribution or transmission maintenance of services don’t just happen. They are carefully and deliberately planned and this plan must be communicated clearly to the consumers once it is not an automated service. The reliability of electricity supply to consumers requires improved access to information by notifying consumers in advance. If it is the case of planned outages then, it is important we have a timetable communicating the activities that are ongoing on the grid,” he said.
Meanwhile, some Ghanaians have been complaining to Citi Business News about the impact of the current power outages on their lives.
“For me, it will worry me because I won’t get light to charge my phone, I won’t get fan to sleep in. This will worry me very well because I am not a friend of heat and thirdly too, my food will get spoilt in my fridge. So, I think the government should come to our aid,” Frederick Asiamah, a plumber lamented.
For Ama Konadu, it will affect her studies.
“It will affect us because we are students, and we need light to charge our phones and laptops. Without the lights, we can’t do all these stuff. And we have online classes too, so without light, all those things are going to affect us. We are pleading with the president to do something,” she said.
It will be recalled that, last month, GRIDCo indicated that the country may in the coming days experience intermittent power outages for which reason a schedule will soon be drawn and made public to enable various maintenance and repair works to be carried out within the power transmission and distribution chain across the country.
