Ghana has been exporting power for decades – Jinapor to Akufo-Addo

Former Deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor has challenged claims by President Akufo-Addo that Ghana is now transporting power to neighboring Burkina Faso as a result of his competent handling of the energy sector.

“We have been able to handle ‘dumsor’, ” the President told Ghanaians in the USA, adding the $2.4 billion legacy debts he inherited from the Mahama government is being cleared, and consequently, “Today, we are exporting energy to Burkina Faso, we will begin, again, to Togo.”

Responding to the claim, Mr Jinapor said the framework for Ghana to export excess power to neighbouring countries has existed for years.

“Firstly, it is important to point out that Ghana has been exporting electricity to its neighbours for decades. Available records from the Energy Commission confirms that Ghana exported 530MW in 2013, 522MW in 2014, 587MW in 2015, and 187MW in 2016.

“On the specific issue of exporting power to Burkina Faso, it ought to be understood that to ensure that we develop a resilient and efficient transmission system with the potential of exporting additional power to neighbouring countries, the Mills/Mahama administration signed the “Inter-Zonal Transmission Hub Project Agreement with the World Bank and other partners, which became effective on 14th December, 2012,” he wrote in a statement.

The statement added: “The objective of the project was to reduce the cost of electricity and security of electricity supply to Burkina Faso, while increasing Ghana’s electricity export capacity, generally. The project involved the construction of approximately 200-kilometre-long power evacuation infrastructure expected to evacuate electrical energy supply generated in Ghana directly to Burkina Faso.

“The Ghana section of the project covers the construction of approximately 39.3 kilometers of the 330kV transmission line and the extension of the existing 161 KV sub-station in Bolgatanga to accommodate the line.

“The project, which was funded by the World Bank, French Development Agency, European Investment Bank, Burkina Faso’s National Electricity Company (SONABEL) and GRIDCo from Ghana with an amount of €81.1million, was expected to be completed by end of September 2017.

“It therefore, comes as a surprise that instead of acknowledging and commending his predecessor for implementing this noble project, the President rather used the occasion to cast aspersions and make false claims about the energy sector in the most unstatesmanly kind”.