Dr Oteng-Adjei Makes Ghana Proud

*Dr Oteng-Adjei Makes Ghana Proud*

Ghana’s Minister of Energy, Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei, has been honoured as a “visionary” for energy efficiency in a colorful ceremony at the conference of the Energy Efficiency Global Forum and Exposition in Washington DC, USA last Wednesday.

He, together with three others from Chile, Sweden and India, were honoured for their roles in designing programmes aimed at reducing the consumption of electricity in their respective countries.

The EE Global Plenary Awards Luncheon is designed to celebrate and showcase the ‘best of the best’ practices in energy efficiency and the visionary policy makers standing behind those successes,” noted Alliance President Kateri Callahan.

“We are pleased to recognize Vice Minister Bronfman, Ambassador Hafström, Director General Mathur and Minister Oteng-Adjei for their outstanding contributions to the global advancement of energy efficiency – a key mission of the Alliance to Save Energy”, he said.

Accepting the honour, Dr. Oteng-Adjei thanked the President John Mills and the good people of Ghana for their immense support shown him.

“This award did not come to me or to Ghana because of my singular effort but through the collective efforts of many players in Ghana and in other parts of the world, including the United States,” he said.

He recalled the purchase and distribution of over six million energy-saving bulbs to reduce energy consumption, noting that it marked a major turning point for Ghana’s energy efficiency drive.

“The purchase and free distribution of six million energy-saving bulbs in exchange for incandescent lamps in 2007 was a major turning point for Ghana’s energy efficiency drive. The US$15.2 million used for lamp purchase, distribution and public education may seem high”, he said.

However, he noted, it was a worthy investment, as the country realized a reduction in maximum demand by 124 megawatts and energy cost savings in excess of US$33 million per annum.

Dr. Oteng-Adjei disclosed that the penetration of energy-saving lamps has grown from 20 percent in 2007 to 79 percent in September 2009. “The use of incandescent lamps, on the other hand, has reduced from 58 percent in 2007 to less than 3 percent in 2009”, he revealed.

He used the opportunity to announce Ghana’s efforts to reduce energy consumption even further by embarking on the refrigerator efficiency project which is designed to be implemented over a period of four years beginning June, this year.

Faced with a severe electricity shortage in 2007 due to low rainfall accumulation upstream from the Akosombo Dam, the country decided to encourage widespread replacement of incandescent light bulbs with CFLs to reduce electricity demand.

The government imported six million CFLs for a public exchange programme which included disposal of the incandescent bulbs. In addition, the government replaced fluorescent lamps at security agencies with more energy-efficient T5 fluorescent lamps.

The program was preceded by an extensive public education campaign on the program's rationale, procedures and the need to make a permanent switch to CFLs. As a result, peak energy demand went down by an estimated 120 megawatts in the first quarter of 2008.

As Ghana’s director of power for the Ministry of Energy from 1991 to 2009, Dr. Oteng-Adjei, who holds degrees in engineering, power systems and business, implemented the most successful national electrification program in Africa.

In February 2009, he was appointed minister for energy and his accomplishments include development of electricity market rules and regulations for the promotion of energy efficiency.

Dr. Oteng-Adjei has authored 15 publications on energy and has been a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electrical Engineers (USA) since 1987.

In 2009 he chaired the Committee of Ministers of the West African Gas Pipeline Project. His prior professional experience included teaching at the university level and working as a planning engineer. *Source: The Herald Newspaper*

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