Mr Jinapor had indicated that CenPower had up to 23 days of fuel reserve as at the time of President Mahama’s swearing-in on January 7, 2025.
The Minister-designate for Energy, John Jinapor has stated that his recent claim that Ghana had only 5 hours of fuel reserves left and that the entire country was going to experience serious load shedding was only in respect of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO).
Mr Jinapor further admitted and confirmed to the Appointments Committee that CenPower, one of several power generation companies in the country has up to 23 days of fuel reserve as at the time of President Mahama’s swearing-in on 7 January 2025.
Mr John Jinapor, answering a question posed to him by the Ranking member of the Appointment Committee in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo Markin, when he appeared before the committee, noted that the media misquoted him based on the headlines they put out following his social media post and his comments after 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, January 7, 2025, John Jinapor claimed that “as a result of this unpatriotic and reckless decision [by the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration not 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.
Ghanamps.com
