Reasons For 'Dumsor' Crisis Are Legitimate - PURC

The Public Utility and Regulatory Commission (PURC) has described as "legitimate" reasons given by the electricity providers for the current load shedding regime the country is enduring. The Public Relations and External Affairs Director of PURC, Nana Yaa Jantuah, said the current situation is not a quality of service issue but one of generation. "I don't think they are giving excuses now. Now it is clear that we are in a crisis situation where there is inadequacy of generation and I always say that generation is the lifeline of electricity provision in every country," she said on Joy FM's Ghana Connect programme, Friday. The country is currently going through a scheduled 12 hours of darkness in 60 hours, a situation that has left business men mourning and residential users of electricity grumbling. A schedule has been advertised by the electricity distributors indicating which area of the country would go off. Nana Yaa Jantuah who represents the interest of users of electricity said the country is in "crisis" at the moment and "there is nothing that can be done about it." She said they have started getting complaints from consumers that their lights are going off outside the scheduled timetable and they are investigating to have those complaints resolved. Chronicling some of the reasons for the crisis, Nana Yaa Jantuah said shortage of gas as well as regular expansion works are to blame for the dire situation the country is going through. She said the Commission is "monitoring" to ensure the schedule is respected as advertised. Nana Yaa Jantuah was however hopeful that with the intervention by the Energy Minister Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah who went to Nigeria to negotiate gas supply and the current expansion works ongoing, the situation would improve by next month.