A former Deputy Energy Minister, Andrew Egyapa Mercer has dismissed claims that challenges facing the power sector regarding fuel procurement stem from personal interests.

He clarified that he chaired a committee which oversaw maintenance schemes throughout the gas-to-power value chain to plan fuel procurement, and there was no evidence of personal interest driving decisions.

Speaking during JoyNews’ National Dialogue on the Power Sector on Thursday, April 18, Mr Mercer stated, “I’m not sure it’s personal interest that drives it because our primary fuel is gas. It’s only about 10% of our generation that is dependent on liquid. And of course, gas is cheaper and so at all times, we prefer to buy gas.

He explained that in instances of maintenance on the Atuabo Gas pipeline or Jubilee upstream operations affecting gas flow, liquid fuel is procured to power plants. He refuted claims that this constitutes personal interest, stating, “It is not motivated by personal interest at all.”

Mr Mercer argued that if fuel procurement was influenced by personal interests, the nation would not vigorously pursue gas from Nigeria, which has been preferred.

“There have been meetings, one of which I attended with my Minister in Abuja to find ways to get Nigeria to support us while we [Ghana] explore our upstream resources to derive more gas,” he said.

Acknowledging political factors, the former deputy minister expressed confidence that agencies provided the committee with necessary data and information.

He cited a graph generated by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) from January to March, illustrating planned versus actual outages on a day-by-day basis.