Mahama gov’t must cough up $90 million to purchase liquid fuel to avert ‘dumsor’

The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has estimated that a total of US$89.90 million is required to purchase liquid fuel for thermal plants to meet power supply demands during the ongoing maintenance (pigging) work on the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP).

The month-long pigging exercise, involving the inspection and replacement of subsea valves, will be carried out by the West African Pipeline Company (WAPCo) from 20th January to 16th February 2025, after being rescheduled by the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration from its initial October 2024 date.

According to GRIDCo’s outlook programme, the pigging exercise will lead to the shutdown of gas-powered plants in Tema, creating a supply deficit. Consequently, liquid fuel must be procured to power plants and prevent potential outages.

GRIDCo’s report concluded:

A total of US$89.90 million is required to purchase liquid fuel to run thermal plants in order to meet demand for the period.

System demand is projected to grow steadily to an annual peak of 4,415.42MW by the last quarter of 2025. There will accordingly be the need to secure additional generation resources with dependable capacity of at least 244.66MW by the last quarter of the year to ensure sustained supply adequacy by the end of the year.

The report further added:

This additional capacity could be realised from the timely completion of installation and commissioning of the last four (4) units at the Anwomaso Thermal Power Station, the AKSA thermal power plant, or the CENIT power plant project, all currently under construction in Kumasi.

There will also be a need to secure an additional 129 mmcfd of natural gas supply (or equivalent volumes of liquid fuels) in order to have enough fuel for thermal generation in Ghana in 2025.

In response to the situation, the government has set up a technical committee comprising key stakeholders to draft a roadmap for addressing the energy sector’s challenges. The team was formed during an emergency meeting with industry players, chaired by Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, on Wednesday, 8th January 2025.

Addressing the media, the President’s spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, noted that the technical team had been tasked with drafting a comprehensive roadmap to resolve the energy sector challenges by the end of the day.

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