The Ministry of Energy has confirmed the arrival of 450,000 barrels of fuel to support power generation at a time stakeholders project imminent power outages.

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Head of Communications at the Energy Ministry, Richmond Rockson, told JoyNews the delivery is currently at anchorage.

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Speaking to the media, “This is one of the first parts out of numerous, so, definitely, like it has always been, the ministry will ensure that, consistently, Ghanaians have stable power.”

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“Every now and then, parcels of fuel are ordered. The only challenge is financing because when you look at the tariff structure, fuels are not part of the tariff structure, so every now and then, we have to fall on the Ministry of Finance to make provisions for funding.”

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He further added: “Beyond LCOS (Levelized cost of storage), we have other liquefied fuels that we depend on, and we also have gas. So it depends on the demand at any time and then what will be used, but definitely, it will cover us for a long period.”

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About a week ago, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, sounded an alarm over a looming nationwide power crisis, revealing that the country had less than three days' worth of liquid fuel to power its electricity-generating plants.

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Addressing the Parliamentary Committee on Energy on Thursday, May 15, Mr Jinapor stated that the ministry was racing against time to secure billions of cedis needed to pay for new fuel supplies already ordered.

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The minister disclosed that while some fuel has been procured on credit, the lack of immediate funding threatens to paralyse power generation nationwide. Mr Jinapor also stated that the Ministry of Finance is being engaged, but its financial constraints limit what can be done.

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He disclosed to them that an amount of $1.1 billion was needed by the government to procure fuel to enable the country to keep its plants running.

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“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.”

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However, the problem has been averted with the delivery of the liquid fuels.Ghana’s energy crisis

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Ghana is currently facing a severe energy crisis evident in the frequent power outages, financial struggles, and fuel shortages. The government is urgently seeking GH₵1.1 billion for fuel procurement.

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The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on the other hand, is facing a monthly deficit of GH₵2 billion due to poor revenue collection, making it difficult to pay independent power producers, who have threatened to suspend operations.

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Government’s efforts to deal with energy sector crisis

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In March this year, Mr Jinapor announced the government’s plans to construct a second gas processing plant to augment the shortfall and increase supply security.

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Minister for Energy & Green Transition John Abdulai Jinapor and Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, on Monday afternoon, inaugurated the Implementation Committee for Ghana's Second Gas Processing Plant (GPP II).

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The finance minister noted that the project, which is "long overdue" will enable the country to save "nearly $500 million and create over 1,000 jobs for our people."

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Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has issued a 4-week timeline to the Implementation Committee for Ghana's Second Gas Processing Plant (GPP II) to finalise their implementation plan.

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