Minister-designate for Energy John Jinapor has indicated that his recent remark that Ghana has only 5 hours of fuel stocks left and that the entire country would face severe load shedding was only for Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO).
Mr Jinapor further testified and affirmed to the appointments committee that CenPower, one of several power producing businesses in the country, had up to 23 days of fuel reserve at the time of President Mahama’s swearing-in on January 7, 2025.
Mr John Jinapor, responding to a question posed to him by the Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo Markin, during his appearance before the House’s appointments committee, stated that the media misquoted him based on the headlines they published following his social media post and his comments following President John Mahama’s swearing-in on January 7, 2025.
“I was specific. I said we had 5 hours of HFO, and it is true. We had 5 hours of HFO. I said we had zero hours of DFO for Sunon Asogli, and it is true. I gave a breakdown, but I don’t develop the headlines; I do not write the stories.
“The recording is there, and the truth is that we had 5 hours of HFO, and if there is any problem with gas supplies, we are going to lose as much as 370 megawatts in 5 hours’ time, which will lead to load shedding. So, as far as I am concerned, that is a fact,” John Jinapor stated before the appointments committee.
In his earlier post on Tuesday, 7 January 2025, John Jinapor claimed that “as a result of this unpatriotic and reckless decision [by the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration on to purchase fuel for power generation before leaving office], Ghanaians will experience serious load shedding during the period of the pipeline maintenance and pigging exercise scheduled by WAPCo on the West African Gas Pipeline from Nigeria to Ghana, from 20 January to 16 February 2025.”
“Today, as President Mahama prepares to assume office, our checks from the system operator (GRIDCO) have revealed that Ghana has less than 2 days of stock for both Distillate Fuel and Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) with no plans put in place by the outgoing administration to restock the depleting fuel stocks despite assurances by government officials to the transition team.
“The Ministry of Energy confirmed at the joint transition team meetings that WAPCo had originally scheduled to begin the pipeline cleanup and inspection exercise in October 2024 aimed at protecting the integrity and assuring safe operations of WAPCo’s offshore pipeline. However, the Akufo Addo-led government deliberately coerced WAPCo to postpone the exercise to 20 January 2025 under the guise of requiring time to secure the needed parcels of liquid fuel to augment any gas shortfall during the maintenance period.
“Indeed, at the meeting of the subcommittee of the joint transition team on Energy and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Energy gave numerous assurances that, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and other key players in the country’s gas-to-power sector, adequate provision had been put in place to mitigate the impact on the country’s grid system and ensure a reliable and stable power supply during the shutdown,” John Jinapor’s post read.
“It is, however, shocking to note that the outgoing administration has not ordered a single parcel of liquid fuel to replenish the depleting stock despite knowing the implications of their reckless and politically motivated decision. It is expected, although regrettable, that the country’s energy sector is headed towards the path of paralysis by dint of this reckless decision.
“Indeed, the nation is expected to experience a massive power supply deficit of about 1000 MW from the 20th of January 2025 when the pigging exercise commences. For the record, it takes about 4 to 6 weeks, on average, to order a parcel of Light Crude Oil (LCO) and another 4 weeks for the treatment of the same before usage. As a result, it could take about 10 weeks before fuel is readily available to increase power generation output within the Tema enclave,” Jinapor further stated in his post.
