Many parts of Ghana are experiencing power cuts because there isn’t enough natural gas at a major power station. This is making the country’s already serious economic problems even worse. The power company, GRIDCo, explained that there’s a shortage of 550 megawatts of electricity during busy times. Ghana uses natural gas to make electricity, and they’ve been dealing with these power cuts, known as “dumsor,” for a long time.
One person from Ghana said that “dumsor” is happening again, with no set schedule or clear communication about when the power will come back on. GRIDCo didn’t say when the power will be restored. CNN has asked them for more information.
The experts at the Centre for Socioeconomic Studies (CSS) are saying that Ghana’s energy problem is going to get even worse in the next few years, starting from this year. They believe that the country needs to invest a lot of money and effort right away to fix the current dangerous situation with its energy supply.
A study by CSS in June warned that Ghana’s current energy supply is in really bad shape and heading towards a serious crisis, especially starting from 2023. Despite the country not having enough power, people have had to pay more for electricity. In May, the prices went up by more than 18%, and earlier in the year, they increased by nearly 30%. Just last month, bills went up by over 4% during a time when living costs are already very high.
This year, Ghana has been dealing with big economic problems like high inflation, the local currency losing value, a lot of debt, and the government not getting enough money. The World Bank said that the energy sector is costing the country a lot, and this is making the government’s budget weaker. Because of all these issues, people have been protesting against the government and calling for the person in charge of the central bank to be removed because they think the economy is being badly managed.
In July, the central bank said it had a huge loss of over $5 billion last year, which is the largest loss they’ve ever had.
SOURCE:CNN