The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has refuted widespread claims that Ghana is currently experiencing a gas supply shortage, assuring the public that electricity generation remains stable and that there is no imminent threat of a return to “dumsor.”
The Ministry’s clarification follows media reports suggesting that gas supply difficulties were compelling power producers to cut nearly 200 megawatts (MW) of electricity from the national grid daily — a development that had begun to stoke public fears of a return to the country’s dreaded era of systematic load shedding.
Officials at the Ministry were swift to describe those reports as inaccurate and inconsistent with the current state of the energy sector.
Richmond Rockson, Spokesperson and Head of Communication at the Ministry, stated categorically that there is no fuel supply shortfall affecting the country’s electricity generation capacity.
“There is no gas supply shortfall affecting power generation, and available fuel resources are adequate to meet the country’s electricity demand,” Rockson stated.
According to Rockson, the power interruptions recently experienced in various parts of the country are attributable to challenges within the electricity distribution network managed by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) — not a shortage of gas or fuel.
A technical assessment of ECG’s operations, he explained, uncovered that a number of transformers across the network are either damaged or operating beyond their designed capacity. This, he noted, is largely the result of years of insufficient investment in maintenance and poor procurement planning.
“A comprehensive assessment of ECG’s operations revealed that several transformers across the network are either damaged or overloaded,” Rockson said.
In response to the identified infrastructure gaps, the Minister of Energy, Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor, has approved a nationwide transformer upgrade programme designed to strengthen the distribution network and enhance the overall reliability of electricity supply across the country.
As part of this intervention, ECG has commenced a major upgrade exercise in parts of Accra, targeting six key substations: Adenta, La, Teshie-Nungua, Nmai-Dzor, Baatsonaa, and Lashibi.
The project involves the replacement of 12 transformers, with their capacity being upgraded from 20/26 MVA to 30/39 MVA — a move expected to significantly reduce the frequency of outages in the affected areas.