Director of Research and Evidence at ACEP, John Peter Amewu has described as inaccurate President John Mahama’s comments suggesting the heavy draw on power by the millions of mobile phones users in the country is partly to blame for the energy crisis.
He said the president’s comment is as a result of misinformation of technocrats at the presidency.
In an interview with Joy News’ Justice Forson, Peter Amewu said the President needs technocrats who will advise him on the real issues confronting the energy sector.
“I think that the speech coming from the President is very irrelevant, it is uncalled for and an insult to the integrity of Ghanaians and to the growth of this country. I think the President should come out again and probably apologize to Ghanaians”.
The recent claim against electronic gadgets is one of several reasons cited for the current power crisis and comes on the back of several failed promises to address the challenge.President Mahama made the allusions about the impact of the electricity consumption by electronic gadgets when he met the Ghanaian community during his recent visit to The Gambia.
Peter Amewu however says the consumption from mobile phones is too negligible to be of concern to managers of the sector.
The researcher believes the problem has to do more with mismanagement by leaders in the sector than the number of phones charged.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is currently shedding over 440 megawatts during off-peak periods and 650 megawatts during peak periods.
Key amongst the reasons for the crisis is the low level of water in the Akosombo Dam and the unavailability of gas to power some other thermal plants.
