From the end of this month, 1,500 new transformers will be deployed as part of efforts to improve and stabilise the power supply in the country, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Dr John Jinapor, has announced.
In view of that, he has urged Ghanaians to bear with the situation while the transformers are being replaced, due to potential disruptions during the process.
He said that although there had been some remarkable improvement in the power sector, that was not enough and that the government was determined to ensure a stable and uninterrupted power supply at the distribution end to address comprehensively isolated or localised outages.
Dr Jinapor made this known yesterday at the launch of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Corporate Strategy (2025-2029).
He said the corporate strategy signified a renewed commitment to the country’s electricity sector, especially to modernise the distribution sub-sector, improve efficiency, ensure financial viability and sustainability, but most importantly, to develop a customer-centred utility capable of supporting Ghana’s national development.
Demand
He said he was happy that the corporate strategy put the customer at the helm of affairs, adding that the country’s power sector stood at a critical moment as electricity demand continued to grow exponentially with the expansion of the economy and the emergence of new industries.
Dr Jinapor admitted that there was an IMF programme that required a quarterly adjustment to the cost of power.
“It’s true, there’s an IMF programme that asks for a quarterly adjustment to reflect the cost of electricity.
“That is true. There’s no doubt about that.
But I’m saying that the argument should not even be about whether or not it is an IMF programme.
The argument should be what Ghana ought to do to ensure that there’s a reliable supply of power, but also what we can do to make that electricity affordable,” he said.
He said that if the ECG did not collect what it was supposed to, then it meant that few people had to pay for services that others were not paying for, which made the tariff high as inefficiencies were incorporated into the tariff structure.
Disconnect
Dr Jinapor said he had given the ECG the free will to disconnect government agencies that did not pay.
“I have given them the free will and if they don’t pay, cut them.
The government agencies must also do what the private sector is doing.
They budget to buy cars.
They should buy electricity.
“It’s not free for government agencies.
The only ones who might be exempted, such as theatre, children’s ward, what we call the critical ones, even that one, the Minister of Finance, you buy your time, pay for them.
Because other countries are doing it, we must do it too.
We must improve this sector.
Other than that, it will collapse and that is the reality,” he emphasised.
The Chairman of the Board of the ECG, William Amuna, who chaired the event, said the organisation’s collective task was clear: to translate vision into measurable outcomes.
For his part, the acting Managing Director of the ECG, Julius Kpekpena, said strategic planning had long guided the operations of the company.
The formal practice, he said, started in 1988 and played a critical role in shaping the company’s priorities and responses to the evolving challenges of providing reliable electricity to support the country’s economic growth.
Providing the highlights of the corporate strategy, the Director of Projects, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the ECG, Charles Obeng, mentioned the six strategic pillars as corporate strategy execution and governance, customer engagement and experience, operational efficiency and infrastructure optimisation, risk, security and compliance, as well as revenue mobilisation and diversification.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh