Abstract

The aim of this paper was to examine the causes and effects of the frequent and unannounced electricity blackouts on the operations of micro and small scale industries (MSI) in Kumasi, Ghana. Data from a sample of 320 MSI selected from three industrial clusters in the Kumasi metropolis, revealed that the frequent and unannounced blackouts have caused a deficit of about 5.3% in the quantity of electricity they required for continuous operations. The blackout hours were estimated to last for an average of 10.3 hours per month. As a consequence of the blackouts, about 44% of the MSI spent this duration in redundancy because of lack of alternative sources of electricity but maintained the same labour cost. The remaining 56% of the MSI obtained power from alternative sources which required an average of GH¢15.5 per month to run. The paper concludes that uninterrupted electricity supply is vital for the effectiveness of the MSI.

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