When the Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, claimed that Ghana would not experience power outages or Dumsor again but would rather experience what he termed as “Dum Sie Sie”, he knew what he had under his sleeves.
Ghanaians are enjoying power throughout the yuletide, something that had not been experienced in a very long time.
Life was bitter in 2014 Yuletide and beyond, and even though there were attempts to save the situation, none of the attempts worked.
There were fears that the old situation would pop up again in 2021 but this time the “Dum Sie Sie” strategy has offered Ghanaians the best of Yuletide in recent years as far as power supply is concerned.
The people of Kumasi especially were apprehensive because the power situation in that area was more than appalling just weeks to the Yuletide, but the narratives changed for the best and they are enjoying uninterrupted power supply.
Proper planning and teamwork by all stakeholders within the power sector have done the trick and it is obvious that the energy minister is on top of his game and is well prepared to change the status quo for the best.
What Did The Trick?
The Pokuase substation (Bulk Supply Point): This station on completion will harness a reliable and quality power supply for areas such as Pokuase, Kwabenya, Legon, Nsawam and its environs. The work is about 95% complete.
The Kasoa Bulk Supply Point: This station on completion will improve reliability and quality of supply to Kasoa and its environs such as Senya Bereku, Bawjiase, Nyanyanu, just to mention a few. This programme will benefit 241,508 ECG customers. It is 60% complete.
At present, a national transmission backbone under construction from the coast to Bolgatanga has a gap between Kintampo and Kumasi. This will ease the load on the Kumasi substations and become the instrument of power transmission within the Ashanti Region, Bono Region and the North.
The Tema to Accra transmission line upgrade project to accommodate an increase from 161KV capacity to 330KV capacity.
In addition to this is the intention to move the Ameri Plant to the Ashanti Region to stabilise the area, given that the Bui Dam is performing below capacity due to low water levels, meaning it is unable to provide the needed support.
Dr. Prempeh in the past explained that as the BSP projects are completed, there will be the need to break into the electricity supply system in the relevant catchment areas to make it safe for a tie-in process, just as an electrician would need to turn off the electricity mains of your home to create a safe environment if he has to do some work there.
As the minister indicated, when the ‘dum’ happens, it is for a purpose – to fix the problem. This is ‘dum-fixing’ or ‘dum-siesie’ and that has offered Ghanaians the best Yuletide since 2014.