Some Members of Parliament (MPs) on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and all from three different Regions, have publicly expressed their frustration about the ongoing erratic power outages, commonly known as ‘dumsor’, which they say is creating both social and economic challenges for their constituencies and making them unpopular among the respective electorate.
The concerned Parliamentarians have therefore urged the government and power sector agencies to act swiftly and decisively to end the crippling electricity disruptions.
Speaking to the media after a meeting between Parliament’s Energy Committee and key power agencies on May 17, 2025, MP for the Yilo Krobo Constituency in the Eastern Region, Albert Tetteh Nyarkotey, MP for the Akan Constituency in the Oti Region , Yao Gomado and MP for the Anlo Constituency in the Volta Region Richard Kwami Sefe each narrated how the erratic electricity supply is harming their communities’ local economies and critical services such as hospitals, schools, and businesses.
Albert Tetteh Nyarkotey revealed that power outages in Yilo Krobo can last as long as three days and as the sole MP from Krobo on the committee, Nyarkotey vowed to champion urgent solutions to rescue his people from this crisis.
“It has affected businesses. First of all, we have hospitals in the area, we have a university in the area, and sometimes the power goes off for two days or three days. So the key impact will be to the universities, to the hospitals, and to the other schools.
As a representative of the good people of Yilo Krobo and as the only Krobro area MP on the Committee it is my objective to champion this and to have the problem solved”, he lamented.
Yao Gomado from Akan constituency described the situation as unbearable.
“You may have power for about an hour, then suddenly intermittently the power will be cutting off, on and off, several times especially in the evenings or nights. That causes a lot of inconvenience to people. Businesses must run. I even feel for those running cold stores; their products will spoil,” Yao Gomado said with concern.
Richard Kwami Sefe from Anlo also reported frequent power cuts, which occur every three hours. This frequent interruption severely disrupts daily life and business operations.
“In about three hours the light will trip and come back in two minutes, then another three hours the light will trip,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, recently warned that Ghana urgently needs about US$1.1 billion to buy liquid fuel to keep power plants running.
Speaking on May 15, 2025, Minister Jinapor said the country risks a power shutdown without immediate funding.
According to Minister Jinapor, the government currently owes over $1.7 billion to Independent Power Producers (IPPs). An additional $1.1 billion is needed to buy liquid fuel for electricity generation.
“We require about $1.1 billion to procure liquid fuel alone. Unfortunately, the liquid fuel is not part of the tariff structure, and so we will be buying close to $15 billion of liquid fuel, and that has to be paid by the central government,” he disclosed.
He also revealed that Karpower, one of Ghana’s major power producers, has threatened to shut down its plant by May 18 if the government does not clear its debt of more than $400 million.
“Karpower has just sent us a letter that by 18th, they will shut down the plant because we owe them more than $400 million. IPPs alone, we owe them $1.7 billion, and so it’s serious,” the Minister stressed.
The Minister pointed out several problems worsening the financial crisis, including the lack of reserve margin in electricity tariffs and poor collections by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
“ECG is unable to collect all the monies, and so you are having a deficit of about 2 billion cedis every month when it comes to ECG’s collections. When you add that deficit and you add the fuel, which is not part of the pass-through, you are looking at over 30 billion,” he explained.
Also, the Ranking Member on the Energy Committee, George Kwame Aboagye, criticized large companies for failing to pay their electricity bills. He also pointed out Ghana’s high transmission losses, currently around 29 to 30 percent, compared to 8 to 9 percent in developed OECD countries.
Adding to growing concerns, Nana Amoasi VII, Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Security (IES), had also already warned that ‘dumsor’ will not go away anytime soon. Speaking on Eyewitness News on Friday, February 21, 2025, he cautioned that without urgent reforms, Ghanaians should expect blackouts until the end of 2025.
“Our power generation is stretched thin. Demand often exceeds supply. Plants are constantly down due to fuel shortages or maintenance,” he explained.
He pointed to inefficiencies at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), massive revenue gaps, and aging infrastructure as major threats.
“Until ECG improves its collections and ensures that every player in the power chain gets paid fairly, the system will keep breaking down,” he cautioned.
