Chairman of Parliament’s Energy Committee Discusses President’s Response to ‘Dumsor’.
Samuel Atta Akyea, the Chairman of the Energy Committee of Parliament, has said that President Akufo-Addo has directed the Volta River Authority to reduce the export of electricity to neighbouring countries in response to the ongoing intermittent power outages, commonly known as ‘dumsor’.
Speaking in an interview on JoyNews in Accra, the Abuakwa South Member of Parliament said the directive exhibits the President’s prioritisation of domestic energy requirements over potential profits from exporting electricity.
“The President has a sense of the national need rather than making profits abroad,” he stated.
“We cannot afford to say “Okay, let’s make good money abroad and let the national economy suffer.” So in the meantime, whatever is going outside would be curtailed and fed on the national grid so that we have electricity,” he told host Evans Mensah.
Ghana has been grappling with erratic electricity supply in recent times, leading to disruptions in various sectors and inconveniences for consumers.
Meanwhile, the country exports power to neighbouring countries including Togo, Benin, and Burkina Faso. Thus, the decision to curtail electricity exports is a preliminary step by the government to mitigate the impact of the power crisis on the nation’s economy and the populace.
He underscored the President’s commitment to addressing the prevailing instability in the country’s power supply.