Benjamin Nsiah, an Energy Analyst and Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE), has warned that Ghana is likely to experience load shedding due to a significant reduction in gas supply by the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo).
Energy Minister John Jinapor recently disclosed that WAPCo has cut gas supply to Ghana to 60 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) due to an outstanding debt of $20 million.
“As we speak today, WAPCo has curtailed gas supply to 60mmscfd because of an outstanding liability,” Jinapor stated at a media briefing. Despite this, he assured Ghanaians that there would be no load shedding.
However, Nsiah, in an interview on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News, argued that load shedding is inevitable under the current circumstances.
“I think it is likely going to cause some load shedding if the minister will admit to the current challenges we are facing because WAPCo has the capacity to do about 120 mmscfd, but because of our inability to pay our debts or arrears, they have reduced to this 60.
“So it means that they are doing half of their capacity to this particular economy,” he explained.
Nsiah further pointed out that, in addition to WAPCo’s supply cut, Ghana is losing about 50 mmscfd due to ongoing maintenance activities around the Jubilee oil and gas field. This shortfall exacerbates the country’s gas supply challenges.
“Beyond that also, we are losing about 50 mmscfd because of some maintenance around the Jubilee area. So our daily need of natural gas, which is hovering around 412 mmscfd, we are not able to meet,” he noted.
He stressed the importance of acknowledging the situation and taking steps to address the gas supply deficit.
“So if the minister will admit, I think that there is a problem somewhere because gas supply is in short supply compared to the demand,” he added.
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