Energy crisis: 1800MW expected in next several months – Mahama
President John Mahama has said the power crisis is still first on his agenda and government expects the addition of about 1800 megawatts of power over the next several months.
Speaking on Saturday at the 20th Ghana Journalists Association Awards in Accra, he said the projects are a 225-megawatt Karpower plant whose necessary preparatory works were ongoing, the 250-megawatt Amandi project at Takoradi, a build, own, operate and transfer arrangement whose civil works are nearing completion.
The President said 370-megawatts are also in expectation from the Aksa project recently approved by parliament whose civil works were nearing completion, the 110-megawatt TEI project whose commercial contract had been approved by parliament, 300-megawatt GE power project whose commercial agreement is being reviewed.
Additional supply is expected from government projects that have been ongoing over the last few years: the Kpone Thermal Power Plant (KTPP) expected to be completed in November and to add 220-megawatts, and the Asogli plant phase 2, expected to add 360 megawatts by the middle of next year.
The president noted that the completion of these projects by next year would mean an installation of more thermal power than the combined generation capacity of the Akosombo, Kpong and Bui hydro-electric dams (1580 megawatts).
“Going forward therefore, our main source of power supply is going to be thermal. With the change in world climate and the lower and lower inflows into our hydro dams, hydro power will increasingly become a supplementary supply rather than our main source of power”, the President said.
On the need for greater security in fuel supply,, President Mahama said apart from gas from the West African Gas Pipeline, the Atuabo processing plant, and planned gas in the near future from ENI and Kosmos gas reserves, the Volta River Authority is constructing new Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRU) to enable the storage of LPG as an alternative source of fuel.
The president also highlighted the need for optimal collection of revenues.
“We cannot continue the situation where officials whose responsibility it is to ensure efficient revenue collection for their agencies, accept money to help clients steal power at a reduced cost. The more people who steal power or refuse to pay their bills, the more expensive power is for the few who pay and the more difficult it is for us to sustain power supply, he said.
By Emmanuel Odonkor