The
impact of Ghana’s energy crisis on businesses and general socio-economic livelihoods
is yet to abate.
But
the Ministry of Power has the ambitious goal of positioning the country to be
an export hub of power in the West African Sub-region.
Sector
Minister, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, says it should be possible for Ghana to trade in
power within the sub-region in the next five years with the ongoing activities
under the regional power pool centered in Ghana.
The
Minister is among six African ministers from the power and energy sectors
engaging interest groups at the 17th Africa Energy Forum (AEF) holding
in Dubia, UAE.
Dr.
Donkor has been highlighting the challenges with electricity generation in
Ghana as well as government’s intervention to address the generation deficit, with
the objective of marketing the investment potentials of the country’s power
sector to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
“The
Ministry of Power is encouraging IPPs to invest in both conventional and
non-conventional forms of generation in the power sector, notably new gas-fired
plants, biomass-fuel plants, solar and wind, hydro and tidal power generations
as well as clean coal fuel generation,” he said.
The
Minister also stated government’s resolve to address what he termed “the tri-lemma
of energy management” – availability of supply, affordability of supply and
security of supply.
“We
are also poised to be the export hub of power to the West African sub-region,” Dr.
Donkor told the Forum.
The
West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) has the goal of integrating national power system
operations into a unified regional electricity market to provide a stable and
reliable power supply at affordable cost.
Peak
demand for power in Ghana is currently is about 2,400megawatts as against the
total installed generation capacity of 2,845megawatts; but only 1,600megawatts
is available at peak and 1,400megawatt at off-peak periods.
The
800megawatt deficit in generation capacity – as a result of equipment failure, unstable
fuel supply and poor rainfall patterns in the Volta catchment – has resulted in
load shedding in most parts of Ghana.
According
to Rwandan Minister of Infrastructure, James Musoni, the failure of African
governments to engage the private sector in the past has been a factor in the
current deficit of power generation on the continent.
Ghana’s
Power Minister, however, said the government is continuously improving the
investment environment and will work with the private sector to supply reliable
power to the population.
The
Africa Energy Forum has attracted over 450 unique companies from 63 countries
worldwide looking for investment opportunities in Africa.
The
AEF 2015 is organized by EnergyNet Limited and sponsored by Aggreko.
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