Multiple regions in Ghana experienced power outages on Thursday as the country’s electricity generation took a hit due to a limited gas supply. The Ghana Grid Company Ltd, (GRIDCo), reported a significant drop in electricity generation, causing a 550-megawatt deficit at peak times, roughly 10% of the nation’s total installed generation capacity.
While the power transmission company confirmed the shortage, they did not specify the reasons behind it.
The root cause of the issue, according to Ghana Gas Chief Executive Officer Ben Asante, was related to gas delivery rather than the gas supply itself.
Mr. Asante explained that the outages occurred because the West African Gas Pipeline Company’s pipeline, responsible for delivering approximately 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day from Takoradi to Tema, had been taken out of service. The West Africa Gas Pipeline Company is expected to release a statement regarding the situation on Friday.
Ghana, known for its cocoa, gold, and oil production, has been grappling with one of its most severe economic crises in a generation, marked by double-digit inflation and soaring public debt. This power outage comes as an additional challenge to the nation’s struggling economy.
Earlier this year, independent power producers (IPPs) in Ghana had warned the government of potential power outages due to overdue payments amid ongoing debt negotiations.
Although an interim agreement was reached a month later with the state-run Electricity Company of Ghana to settle arrears owed to the IPPs, they emphasized that the resolution of the debt issue was critical, as they would consider shutting down their operations without further notice if the problem persisted.
