Ageing transmission infrastructure needs urgent investment – Agyapa-Mercer

Former Member of Parliament Andrew Agyapa-Mercer has urged for immediate investment in Ghana's outdated electricity transmission infrastructure. Speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews, he warned that resource constraints could hinder efforts to stabilize the power supply. Following a nationwide power outage on August 20, Agyapa-Mercer emphasized that the country's transmission network is "extremely old" and needs substantial investment to function reliably across the country.

He questioned whether previous governments' efforts to replace parts of the network have been sufficient, noting that significant gaps remain. The recent power disruption, the second major outage in August, has raised concerns about the resilience of Ghana's power transmission system. Agyapa-Mercer also inquired about the condition of a switchyard and control room affected by a fire in June, questioning if they have undergone sufficient rehabilitation.

He stressed that the issue should not be reduced to partisan politics, as inadequate resources would continue to impact the power sector regardless of which political party is in government. Agyapa-Mercer expressed willingness to give the government the benefit of the doubt if improvements in the power situation are seen by next month, but questioned the means by which the government plans to mobilize the required resources.