Bui Dam not fully operational

The country is currently running short of a total 422 megawatts (MW) of power from the various generators, the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has stated.

For the recently commissioned Bui Dam, power evacuation facilities of one of its three units are yet to be completed “as some work is being undertaken at the Sunyani Station”.

GRIDCo is, therefore, advising consumers, and Ghanaians as a whole, to “conserve electricity”.

This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday, February 5, 2014 by the Company.

It said demand at peak period exceeds generation capacity, causing a supply inadequacy.

Below is the full statement:

Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) announces for the information of the general public that increased demand for electricity the non-availability of some generators in the power system has resulted in the occasional curtailment of power across the country.

The annual peak demand for electricity grew from 1,729MW in 2012 to 1,943MW in 2013 which is a growth of over 12%.

Forecast demand now is 1,980MW at peak. With the current available generation capacity from the power producers at 1,965MW, there is therefore supply inadequacy especially during the peak period.

At present, all six generators at Akosombo Power Plant, all four generators in Kpong and two generators at Bui are available. All three units at Bui have been commissioned but power evacuation facilities for one of the units are not complete as some work is being undertaken at the Sunyani substation.

Expansion and maintenance works are ongoing at the TICO and TAPCO plants at Aboadze respectively which is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter and all these generators would have been restored to service. Upon completion of the expansion works, the capacity of the TICO plant will be increased from 220MW to 330MW.

The Mines Reserve Plant in Tema which has been out of service for over a year was restored to service on February 3, 2014, adding 40MW to the system.

In all, about 422MW of installed generating capacity is currently not available from various generators across the system because of the above stated reasons.

The general public is encouraged to conserve electricity. GRIDCo will keep the public updated on any developments on the supply situation.

Albert Quainoo Head PR, GRIDCo