In recent weeks, many parts of the country have been experiencing erratic power supply, prompting the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to instruct ECG to develop a load-shedding timetable.
However, both the ECG and Energy Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh have denied the existence of a power crisis, attributing the outages to faulty transformers.
Jinapor contends that the energy sector is facing challenges in power generation, which are affecting distribution. He believes the PURC should focus on strategies to improve generation rather than insisting on a load-shedding schedule.
Speaking on Joy FM, Mr. Jinapor said, “I am very, very surprised even at the PURC directive because the main problem is generation, it has nothing to do with transformers. I thought that the PURC would have done its investigation to indeed determine that there is a generation shortfall.
“If there is a generation shortfall, the outage that occurs at the bulk supply point is controlled by GRIDCo. So GRIDCo will then have to inform ECG which bulk supply point will go off, then ECG will inform its consumers. As we speak there is a deficit in terms of generation and until that is resolved we will continue to have the load shedding we are experiencing.”
The MP also criticized Dr. Prempeh's response to calls for a load-shedding timetable, accusing him of politicizing the issue.
Jinapor expressed disappointment that the Minister seemed to downplay the need for a timetable, suggesting that people should not be given one because the situation is "better than during President Mahama’s time."
He argued that admitting to load shedding should prompt the government to provide a timetable for planning purposes, rather than dismissing the need for one.
"I am very shocked and surprised that the minister would give such contradictory and counter instructions. He should know better that we are shedding load, and even in his interview, he couldn't refute it. He admitted that yes, they are shedding load, but in his opinion, it is better than during President Mahama’s time. And so what? That is the question. Let’s assume it's better, so people should not be given a timetable to plan because, in the minister’s opinion, it is better."
Jinapor urged the energy sector's managers to be honest about the challenges they are facing so that appropriate solutions can be found.
He emphasized the importance of transparency in addressing the current power crisis and called for a more constructive approach to resolving the issues in the sector.
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John Jinapor