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The government urgently requires nearly $90 million to prevent a looming power crisis due to insufficient fuel supplies for thermal plants, according to a report from the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo).
The report highlights that these funds are necessary to procure light crude oil and other liquid fuels to operate thermal plants in Tema and meet growing electricity demand. The crisis arises from a generation capacity deficit caused by a recent pigging exercise by the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCO), which temporarily disrupted the natural gas supply.
GRIDCo’s report outlines several strategies to mitigate the impact of the fuel shortage:
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- Rescheduling Planned Maintenance: Revising generator shutdown schedules to avoid overlaps with the WAPCO maintenance period.
- Securing Alternative Fuels: Procuring light crude oil or other liquid fuels to substitute natural gas for thermal power generation.
- Load Management Measures: Considering load-shedding as a last resort to stabilise the national grid in case of severe power shortages.
The report also mentions that the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAGP) had postponed its maintenance of gas pipelines from Nigeria to Ghana from October 2024 to January 2025, exacerbating the fuel shortage.
GRIDCo estimates that a total of US$89.90 million is needed to procure fuel and avoid power outages, which could disrupt economic activities and public services if not addressed promptly. Stakeholders are calling for immediate government action to secure the necessary funding and implement the measures to avert the crisis.
