Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, has announced a nationwide power interruption scheduled for Sunday, July 13, due to maintenance works by gas suppliers, ENI.
The Minister explained that ENI will temporarily shut down their valves to enable a gas system upgrade that will ultimately increase supply capacity to 270 million standard cubic feet (MMscf) during the groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction of the 161kV Anwomaso to Kumasi transmission line on July 8.
“This Sunday, July 13, ENI will turn off their valves temporarily to increase gas production to about 270 MMscf,” Jinapor stated. “It means that we are stabilising the energy sector.”
He noted that while the shutdown will only last a few hours, it is likely to cause brief power outages across parts of the country.
The disruption, he stressed, is for a good cause, as the upgrades are essential to improving the reliability and output of Ghana’s energy sector.
“Because the plant will be turned off for a short period within the day for maintenance works, we are likely to experience some interruption of power. It is for a good purpose,” he reassured.
The Minister also revealed that engineers advised against switching power plants to liquid fuel during the short shutdown, due to the technical challenges involved in doing so for such a limited window.
“Based on the advice from engineers, I have directed that we do not attempt to run those plants on liquid fuel for that short period,” he explained.
“It involves changing nozzles, it involves a lot of work, and so if we are going off for about four to six hours, you don’t risk transitioning to liquid fuel only to come back to gas.”
He urged the public to remain calm and supportive, emphasising that the planned works are in the national interest and key to achieving energy stability in the long term.
