President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dr. Humphrey Ayim Darke, says there is an urgent need for certainty in power supply to facilitate business planning.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Wednesday, he acknowledged the recent stability in power supply but stressed that government must restore confidence to "reasonably above 60 to 70%."

“The power stability has been reasonable within the last four or five months. We pray that stability extends beyond a year, allowing business owners and industrialists to have significant assurance of the full restoration of power availability,” he stated.

Dr Ayim Darke added that while current indicators are positive, the potential threats associated with power-related issues remain concerning.

The Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) reported that routine checks and complaints from members in April revealed that over 5,000 SMEs were facing severe economic challenges.

Read more: Seventy per cent of SMEs productivity lost to power crises in Central Region

Benedicta Anita Mensah, Central Regional Manager of the Chamber, highlighted the devastating effects of frequent power outages, known locally as "dumsor."

She noted the significant losses in productivity and revenue, increased operational costs, and damage to electronic infrastructures caused by the outages.

“The current energy situation is crippling businesses and creating unemployment — a twin situation that could lead to a national disaster. The high cost of production and low productivity due to the power crisis is not sustainable,” Mensah lamented.

Dr Ayim Darke advised the industry to remain cautiously optimistic, noting that the country is not yet out of the woods. He pointed out that financial commitments and obligations, including the restructuring of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), must be addressed to ensure reliable power supply.

“Once the PPA obligations are perfected and pricing is spread over a period, it will provide certainty regarding the reliability of the power supply.

Until then, we must be cautious about the gains achieved so far. For industrialists projecting into the future, certainty is essential.

Additionally, we must address the stability of the exchange rate, which affects the cost of petroleum products used for thermal generation,” he concluded.