ADVERTISEMENT

Find out which place has more "dum" or "sor"

Dumsor scientific report

 

Ask someone in Cantonments about dumsor and they might respond, “What is dumsor?” And it won’t be just because he or she is a foreign diplomat unfamiliar with the local slang for erratic power supply.

ADVERTISEMENT

It could also be because residents of Cantonments hardly experience the energy crisis popularly called “dumsor,” unlike residents of, say, Chorkor. As Ghanaians continue to endure crippling power cuts, everyone has a dumsor story—loss of business, unemployment, undone homework, unplanned pregnancy, and so on.

Every now and then, people report the situation is getting better or worse—depending on where they live.  So, until now, the big picture has been dark.   The Dumsor Report is the first scientific analysis of load-shedding patterns as experienced by consumers.

Researchers selected respondents from 32 areas of Accra (based on ECG’s last published schedule) to report each time their power went on or off between April 28 to May 11, 2015. Analysis of the data shows the following results

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • .
  • .
  • sha’d the body
ADVERTISEMENT

“The data quantify three main aspects to the dumsor crisis: shortage, uncertaintyand inequality,” says Kobina Aidoo, the report’s author. “While the shortage is known by all and the uncertainty is experienced by most, the inequality in distribution is an eye-opener. We did not find a clear pattern linking power supply to affluence but it is insightful to see that some of the areas where most people can afford generators are getting three times as much electricity as the areas where most people can’t. Thus, this crisis is worsening inequality in Ghana. We can’t increase supply overnight, but we can certainly improve certainty and equality,” he adds.

Commenting on the study, industry expert Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby says the findings show that “the only schedule that matters is where ECG thinks it will get paid.”

The Dumsor Report allows Ghanaians to begin to analyze these patterns with hard data rather than just anecdotes.

The report is in the form of six main charts:

ADVERTISEMENT

By: Kobina Aidoo []

Research Assistant: Ewuramma Dontoh

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh

ADVERTISEMENT