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The Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik Mahama, has shed light on the impact of weather conditions and seasonality on electricity sales and revenue. He disclosed that ECG faces a significant financial setback, losing approximately GH¢25 million whenever it rains in any part of the country due to reduced electricity consumption during cold weather.
Mr. Mahama made this revelation during a discussion titled “The Big Power Debate: The High Cost of Keeping the Lights On” on JoyNews’ PM Express with host Evans Mensah.
He emphasized that ECG’s daily revenue, which used to average between GH¢40 to GH¢50 million, takes a hit on rainy days, resulting in the substantial loss of GH¢25 million.
Highlighting the prolonged rainy season experienced in the country, Mr. Mahama expressed his concerns about the rainy weather’s adverse impact on electricity consumption and revenue.
He noted that ECG operates with a flat tariff throughout the year, failing to account for the seasonal variations in consumption that occur during different weather conditions. He highlighted the importance of considering these fluctuations and adapting the tariff accordingly.
Mr. Mahama also touched upon the operational challenges posed by rainy weather, affecting activities such as meter reading and revenue collection. However, he assured that ECG would eventually recover the owed amounts from customers.
In recent times, Ghana has experienced power cuts, with the most recent outage attributed to a shortage of gas supply to power plants in Tema and Takoradi. The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), responsible for the gas supply, has blamed ECG for failing to settle its debt with the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company, leading to the gas supply issue.
