Ghana is on the brink of a severe energy crisis as critical fuel shortages threaten to disrupt power generation across the country.
John Abdulai Jinapor, Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu and co-chair of the Energy Transition Team revealed that President John Dramani Mahama convened an emergency meeting yesterday to address the situation.
Speaking in an interview with TV3, Mr. Jinapor disclosed alarming details about the country’s dwindling fuel reserves.
AKSA, a key power plant, has fuel stock to last only five hours. if running at 120 megawatts.
Karpower KTPP has 1,275.45 cubic meters of distillate fuel, sufficient for just 1.5 days, with one unit operating continuously, or 7.5 days with both units running intermittently.
Meanwhile, Asogli has completely run out of fuel and Cenpower’s reserves – though expected to last 20.9 day – are insufficient to meet national demand on their own.
The crisis is compounded by the impending shutdown of the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) for maintenance from January 20 to February 16, 2025.
This will cut off gas supplies to power plants in Tema, including AKSA, KTPP, Cenpower and Asogli, which rely heavily on the pipeline.
Mr. Jinapor explained that the repair works on the WAGP were originally scheduled for October 2024 but were postponed to January 2025 by the previous government to allow time for adequate stockpiling of light fuel for power generation. However, he noted that no substantial fuel procurement has been made.
A recent report from the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) indicates that $90 million is urgently needed to procure alternative fuel stocks to sustain power generation during this period.
Mr. Jinapor hinted that the country is in a dire situation, adding that at the transition briefing, GRIDCo presented a 12-page report outlining the shortfall.
Mr. Jinapor criticised former Energy Minister Herbert Krapa for the lack of preparedness, pointing out discrepancies in assurances given before the transition.
“The $70 million that was supposed to be transferred to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) for fuel procurement has not been delivered. No parcels of fuel have been ordered, and we are running out of time,” he said.
In response to the growing crisis, President Mahama has tasked Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah to lead an emergency meeting with key stakeholders, including GRIDCo, the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ministry of Energy, and the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST). The objective of the meeting is to devise immediate solutions to avert a nationwide power crisis.
Although Mr. Krapa denied the allegations on his Facebook page, claiming that former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration left sufficient light crude oil in stock, which Cenpower is currently using, and that AKSA continues to receive deliveries, Mr. Jinapor dismissed these assertions.
Mr. Jinapor said the former Minister for Energy still has more to learn, giving his understanding about loadshedding, saying “If AKSA is drawing fuel, what is the stock left? How much fuel did you leave in stock? How long will it last? When is the next consignment you ordered landing?”
Mr. Krapa had suggested that the current challenges could be attributed to technical or administrative lapses by the new administration. However, Mr. Jinapor maintained that the former minister still has much to learn about managing the energy sector.
