Ghanaian power users may be subject to power rationing, due to a thin margin of supply over expected demand, according to Ghana's Minister of Energy, Albert Kan-Dapaah.
Kan-Dapaah was quoted by the Ghana News Agency as saying, "demand for power is 1,290 megawatts while supply is pegged at 1,190 megawatts, making it impossible for the creation of any backup." Several factors have impacted the country's ability to obtain power, including low rainfall last year. The lack of sufficient hydropower from Akosombo Dam and transmission line problems from a thermal power station are partly to blame.
Cote D'Ivoire, which could supply the country with power, is withholding electricity from Ghana due to the lack of certainty it will be paid.
One of the country's major users of power, the Volta Aluminum Company, is being asked by the government to increase its rate of payment for electricity. While its consumption is relatively large, B.J. da Rocha, a government representative, said "what VALCO pays now is too low and is well below production cost and this is no longer acceptable. Also, the allocation of power to the company must be in the context of the nation's overall power requirements."
