Ghana's power station attracts praise, shock from Nigerian delegates

IT was a rather sobbering experience on Wednesday for about 20 Nigerians, drawn from the energy sector - academics, journalists and stakeholders in the industry, as they witnessed, first-hand, the remarkably efficient manner Ghana's Volta River Authority (VRA) has managed her Akosombo Hydro-electric power station.

The Nigerian delegates who were part of the ongoing 4th International Conference on Power System held in Accra, Ghana, were held spellbound as they were conducted round the station which is four years older than Nigeria's Kanji Dam Power Station.

"We are surprised and baffled that this station, which is older by four years, than Kanji Hydro-electric station in Nigeria is still functional, clean, well maintained and upgraded to meet the power needs of Ghana," one of the delegates could not help but to remark.

"Most of us here are impressed by the zeal and commitment of the authority here and the determination of their government to maintain and increase the capacity of their plant," said a Nigerian Professor of Electrical Engineering based in the U.S., Arunsi Chukwu.

Another delegate, who pleaded anonymity observed: "We are not serious in Nigeria, we have the manpower and skills, but the government is not committed to improving the system," he said, pointing out that "you could see for yourself that they have all they need to keep the station moving without recourse to importation of tools and spares for repairs or overhauling," he observed.

With an initial installed capacity of 912 Megawatts when it was built in 1964, it now generates about 1,074 Megawatts through the overhauling and upgrading of its six power-generating turbines. It was observed at the station that the VRA had been carrying out maintenance on its generating units and other facilities, to enable the plant continue to give efficient and reliable service for the next 25 years for the country's industrial, commercial and domestic needs.

It was also noticed that the plant had full stock of all tools at its workshop, spare parts and the latest computerised testing equipment, estimated at over $2 million to enable them check the performance and reliability of its machines and other facilities at the power station.

A Nigerian technician and turbine socialist, Mr. Joe Akhime, who had worked for National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) for more than 20 years at Kainji and Shiroro Hydro dams, was seen working at the Akosombo plant Akhime disclosed that he had been working there since the last five months to refit, overhaul and upgrade the turbines and other facilities> at the plant, adding "they are serious here and they do not want me to go back to Nigeria.

He, however, urged the Federal Government to take a cue from the Ghanaians by ensuring that all power stations in Nigeria are well-maintained and equipped with the necessary tools and spare parts, and to overhaul them to satisfy the power needs of Nigerians. About 150 participants from the United States and other African countries participated in the conference which aims at restructuring the power system in Africa for the year 2000 and beyond.