By Cold store operators in Tema are urgently advocating for the implementation of a load-shedding timetable amidst the recent erratic power supply, commonly known as ‘dumsor’ in Ghana. The unpredictable power outages are inflicting considerable financial strain on these businesses, forcing them to resort to costly alternative power sources.
This situation has also resulted in escalated operational expenses, potentially leading to higher prices for goods and services, including fish.
Victor Seddoh, the manager of Mankoadzee Fisheries, voiced his concerns in an interview with Citi News. He questioned the authorities’ failure to pinpoint the root cause of these outages.
Seddoh emphasized the heightened cost of fuel for generators during these power disruptions, which adversely affects their overall expenses.
“Have they identified the problems, the authorities? Because we hear conflicting information from various regulatory bodies. Why won’t the government get one solid reason for these outages and then resolve it.”
“Until the power outage, we were relying on ECG. So we hardly bought fuel at all for the generator. Within this period of power outage, we will need to buy at least 600 litres of fuel to run for eight to nine hours. And that is very expensive. You cannot put a monetary figure on it because the price keeps changing.”
“It is cost and we must reduce cost. So in retrieving cost what do you do, you apply to your customers and that is the issue. And the eventual results will be an increase in prices of goods and services, the fish price will go up. ”
Christabel Mensah, manager of Nkunim Frozen Foods, recounted her ordeal of losing nearly 100 cartons of fish during a recent power outage over the weekend.
She stressed the necessity for a load-shedding timetable to assist cold store operators in better planning their operations.
“Recently our fish, almost 80 to 100 cartons got spoilt because over the weekend, we were not around and there was light off. And we did not have an uninterrupted power supply so we couldn’t come back and from where we stayed too, we couldn’t come back to turn on the generator. So when we came on Monday, most of our fish had gone bad.”
The cold store operators believe that a load-shedding timetable would provide them with better control over their businesses and help mitigate the negative effects of the power outages.
