Power outages are anticipated to endure for three weeks in parts of Ghana due to a scarcity of supply from Nigeria.
According to a statement from the state electricity company, the cause of the temporary stoppage was maintenance work at an unnamed Nigerian gas supplier.
Ghanaians have experienced years of frequent power outages, and they even have their own term, “dumsor,” which means “on and off” in the Akan language.
Power demand has consistently increased over the last two decades, owing to rising urbanisation and population development.
“The current situation is entirely out of WAPCo’s control,” the company added.
The state-owned power company in Ghana has announced that load-shedding will be used to distribute available supply as efficiently as feasible.
“We wish to assure the public that we are collaborating with other stakeholders… to ensure minimal impact of the reduction in gas supply on consumers,” the Electricity Company of Ghana said on Thursday in a joint statement with the Ghana Grid Company.
The companies promised to handle the disruptions effectively so that important services were not disrupted during the period of reduced gas supply.
It comes just two months after President Nana Akufo-Addo stopped electricity supplies to Togo, Burkina Faso, and Benin due to supply issues.
Power shortages have deteriorated in recent years as the country faces its worst economic crisis in a decade.
According to Elikplim Kwabla Apetogbor, the chairman of the association that represents private electricity suppliers, the state power company owes them $1.6 billion (£1.3 billion).
They threatened to shut down operations due to the arrears last July.
Ghana, one of the world’s leading exporters of gold and cocoa, has recently become significantly reliant on gas as a primary source of energy for electricity generation.
The majority of the country’s electricity comes from hydroelectric and thermal sources, which are sometimes badly maintained.
