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AfrElec POLICY AfrElec

Ghana again hit by complete Dumsor

GHANA GHANA suffered a nationwide power cut on generation of independent power producers
March 7, lasting for most the afternoon and (IPPs) by the end of 2021.
evening. This would bring online more privately
State-run GRIDCo said: “a challenge to the owned capacity, as ECG has failed to meet
power system led to a total system shutdown demand.
around 2:10 p.m. local time.” However, he acknowledged that these new
The capital Abidjan and the Eastern, Ashanti, contracts would be expensive for ECG and the
Western Volta, Northern and Bono regions all government. However, in the long run the IPPs
reported that the power supply was down, a situ- aim to supply more reliable and affordable power.
ation known as Dumsor in Ghana and elsewhere However, many PPAs signed over the last five
in West Africa. The power cuts followed Inde- years are “take or pay” contractual agreements,
pendence Day on March 6. which mean that the state-owned utility compa-
State-run utility Electricity Company of nies and the government are obliged to pay, even
Ghana (ECG) had warned since February 25 that if no power is supplied to the grid.
there were supply problems. The country now has 5,204.5 MW of installed
GRIDCo said on March 7 that “challenges in capacity, with peak demand of 2,881.60 MW.
the power system led to total system shutdown, However, gas supply and grid problems mean
leading to interruption of power supply in all that much capacity is shut down. Local produc-
parts of the country.” tion has proved inadequate, although the Tema
The company finally explained on March 8 LNG is set to make more fuel available when it is
that “a technical fault on one of the major trans- up and running this year.
mission lines between Prestea and Obuasi, which Also, construction of the Takoradi-Tema
led to an overload on other adjacent transmis- Interconnection Project (TTIP) was finished in
sion lines, leading to a sequence of trips and an July 2020, meaning that the West African Gas
eventual power system shutdown in the country”. Pipeline Co. (WAPCo) can supply gas from the
Dumsor has been less common in recent west to the Tema industrial region.
years, but between 2013 and 2015 the country One way forward is to increase renewables
suffered from a crippling power crisis as rising capacity. The country aims to have up to 1,094.63
power demand, elderly generating capacity and MW of grid-connected renewable sources in the
gas supply problems cut generating output. generation mix by 2030.
In the aftermath of the power cuts, Ghana- Access to power levels in the country has
ian President Nana Akufo-Addo said in his State reached 84%, according to World Bank data, and
of the Nation Address on March 9 that the gov- demand has risen in line with economic growth
ernment expected to sign contracts with a new in recent years.™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 10 11•March•2021