Despite renewed power outages, Acting Power minister, Seth Terkper, says calls for a timetable to manage consumer expectations of power supply may be too early.

He has explained that the current power outages are not expected to last long enough to need a timetable. If the crisis is expected to last longer, then a timetable will be necessary, he suggested.

But what consumers are experiencing in recent times is an emergency situation, not a protracted crisis, he said.

It should be resolved sooner than it is feared, Seth Terpker indicated on the Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Tuesday.

A timetable was last issued in 2015 when power crisis was at its most inconvenient height. Consumers sometimes experienced 12 hours on and 24 hours off as government steered through difficult times.

Consumers say that although the timetable was not entirely accurate it was better than being kept in the dark.

In view of another round of renewed power outages, there are fears that it is a sign of longer crisis ahead. A major trade union, the Industrial and Commercial workers Union (ICU) has called for a timetable to mitigate the effects of unplanned outages.

In a reminder of what businesses stand to loss in a resurging power outages, the Institute of Statistical, Social, Economic Research (ISSER) has quantified that that businesses lost $2.2million daily during the peak of the power crisis last year.

Nonetheless, Seth Terpker has suggested it may be too early to have a timetable.

He explained that the 400 megawatt deficit has increased to 650 megawatts, causing a wider lack of power supply.

Government says it is working to bridge this deficit by buying light crude oil to power thermal plants at VRA and Asogli generation plants.

A cheaper option of gas from Nigeria is no longer available immediately because of production disruptions in Nigeria’s troublesome energy industry. There have been attacks on pipelines forcing energy companies to cut back supply.

Seth Terkper says the other option, the Akosombo Dam is off the table because the poor rainfall pattern.

With light crude oil the option available, government says power plants are getting supplies Tuesday. The Acting Power minister expects that the outages could be reduced significantly by next week.

But this assurance, he noted is not cast in stone because he has come to understand that in the energy sector, other unforeseen circumstances could throw plans out of gear.

Fixation on timelines is therefore not advisable, he said.