SUPPORT ENERGY SECTOR (THRUSDAY, APRIL 23, 2009)

ONE of the driving forces of industrialisation in developing countries such as Ghana is energy. It was for that reason that the Akosombo Dam was built in the 1960s to generate electricity to serve as the engine of the country’s industrialisation efforts.
Subsequent power projects such as the Kpong, Aboadze Thermal Power and Mines Reserve Plant and Bui were initiated to supplement power generation from the Akosombo Dam but the country continues to experience energy shortfalls partly due to factors such as increasing population, as well as technical challenges of the generation, transmission and distribution of power.
A total nationwide blackout early this week, once more, brought to the fore the technical problems facing the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the distribution of energy.
At a press conference organised in Accra on Tuesday, the Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, did not mince words to drum home the challenges of the energy sector and financial resources required to solve them.
According to the minister, the nation needs about $10 billion over the next five years to finance the numerous initiatives in the energy sector. This is a major challenge that requires the collaboration of the agencies in the energy sector to surmount.
The DAILY GRAPHIC considers action in the sector very imperative and implore VRA, GRIDCO, ECG and the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to explore all avenues to raise the necessary funds to generate power to meet national needs. This is very important in the realisation of the government’s vision to ensure universal access and choice of modern energy forms to all Ghanaians by 2020.
While efforts are underway to raise funds for additional power generation, especially at the time when the nation has discovered oil, the DAILY GRAPHIC is gratified that the weather outlook is good and will help to improve the water level in the Akosombo Dam.
Such a healthy development gives hope that the nation can be spared the agony of intermittent power outages, at least, for now.
In February 2009, the ECG announced efforts to secure $194 million to expand its facilities to halt incessant power outages that affect consumers, especially in the southern sector of the country.
The project, which had already started, involve the provision of more sub-stations to ease the pressure and load on existing facilities.
We call on the ECG to expedite action on the execution of the project to minimise load-shedding and power cuts.
Uninterrupted power generation and supply is necessary to attract the much needed investors to the country.
Unfortunately, the power providers have lost the goodwill they used to enjoy from the public because of the contempt with which they have treated their customers. Customer-care is lacking in the lexicon of these organisations to such an extent that services are disrupted without regard for the concerns of customers.
These days the ECG would hardly inform its customers of planned outages for maintenance. This culture must change.
We also call on the government to explore other sources of power generation such as wind, solar and nuclear. There is also the need for the public to contribute their quota towards energy conservation.
Unless we are able to have sustainable power supply, achieving our dream of becoming a middle-income economy in the shortest possible time would remain a mirage.