Ghana is experiencing an uncommon power outage plunging parts of the country into darkness.
The country's power utility company, Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), says the situation, which started on Thursday evening, is ‘’due to limited gas supply to Teme.’’
There would be "a supply gap of 550 MW at peak time," it adds in a statement. Ghana has been facing electricity shortages for years. It generates most of its power from hydro and thermal sources.
Cyril Adu, who lives in the capital Accra, says his biggest concern is the impact this outage could have on his business.
‘’I am a film maker and need electricity to work. All through last night and into this morning, there has not been electricity. It's bad enough that the economy is not so great, but to compound our challenges even more with this latest development is simply unfair,’’ he tells TRT Afrika.
Long-standing problem
In a statement on Thursday, GRIDCo, the power operator, said "the inconvenience caused is deeply regretted". The power utility firm how long it would take for electricity to be restored.
Ghana's independent power producers (IPPs) had threatened a shutdown over arrears owed to them last July.
But they suspended the planned strike after reaching an interim deal with the state-run Electricity Company of Ghana.
In late May, the IPPs rejected a government proposal to restructure $1.58 billion in arrears owed them by the state as part of the West African nation's efforts to implement a $3 billion loan deal from the International Monetary Fund.
