225KV Bolgatanga-Ouagadougou line ready for power export to Burkina Faso

Ghana will in the next couple of days export power to neighboring Burkina Faso following the completion of 225 KV power transmission line linking Ghana and Burkina Faso.

The line (225 KV) is interconnecting Bolgatanga in the Upper East and Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

It will extend over 210 km of which 37 km will be in Ghana.

The project is being funded by World Bank, French Development Agency, European Investment Bank, Burkina Faso’s National Electricity Company (SONABEL) and GRIDCo with an amount of €81.1 million.

The facility will allow Ghana to export energy to Burkina Faso at a lower cost.

Speaking to MyNewsGH.com, Director in charge of West Africa Power Pool Projects at GRIDCo Rev. Samuel F. Kwofie, said his outfit did what he described as “energization of the line” on April 29, 2018 for 24hours to ensure that everything was alright.

“We picked all the readings and we saw that it was good,” he explained.

He said per GRIDCo’s current plan they should have exported power to Burkina Faso on 30th April, but said due to delay in the arrival of some panels from outside to be fixed on the Bolgatanga substation, it has pushed the commissioning date further.

“Some panels our contractors were expecting delayed five says on high seas and unfortunately when it came to the port, clearing it has also delayed for five days,” he said.

According to Rev. Samuel Kwofie, they are anticipating to clear the panels from the port by Friday after which they would be sent to Bolgatanga to be fixed.

“We should be able to export power to Burkina Faso within this month,” he said.

Touching on revenue generation, Rev. Kwofie said “definitely the project would bring us some revenue” adding that “it is also an opportunity for the power generation companies like VRA to export power outside.”