Mahama to hold emergency meeting over threat of ‘dumsor’

President John Dramani Mahama has instructed the Chief of Staff to convene an emergency meeting with energy sector stakeholders in a bid to address the looming power crisis and avert potential ‘dumsor.’

The announcement was made by Yapei-Kusawgu MP and former Deputy Energy Minister, John Abdulai Jinapor, during an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, January 8.

“Today at 10 a.m., His Excellency the President instructed that the Chief of Staff chairs a meeting with all stakeholders,” Jinapor stated. The meeting will bring together key power generation and distribution companies, including GRIDCo, WAPCo, VRA, GNPC, and BOST, to discuss immediate solutions to stabilize power supply.

According to Jinapor, the meeting was prompted by the previous government’s inability to procure sufficient fuel for power generation, leaving the country’s energy sector in a precarious position. “The essence of the meeting is to find solutions to these challenges that I have enumerated,” he added.

Highlighting the current state of liquid fuel stocks, Jinapor revealed critical shortages across major power plants. “AKSA’s current available stock is 225m³, expected to last for five hours at 120 megawatts. KTPP has 1,275m³, sufficient for one and a half days with one unit running continuously. Cenpower has 293,000m³, which will last for 20.9 days with two units running continuously,” he detailed.

However, the Asogli plant faces a complete fuel stock outage. “Asogli has no fuel; even if the fuel arrives now, it will still need to be treated,” he explained, underscoring the urgency of the crisis.

Jinapor further disclosed that technical teams had been working through the night to propose viable solutions, which will be tabled during the meeting. “His Excellency will be briefed, and I’m confident he will provide instructions to the Chief of Staff,” he said.