Ghana making steady strides to boost power supply – Former Gridco boss

Ghana has made steady strides to overcome the power challenges and restore regular and constant electricity supply to all parts of the country, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gridco, William Amuna, has said.

“Through our collective effort, we have been able to restore electricity supply to Ghana. Today, we have over 25 percent of our installed capacity on standby and we do not import power,” he said at the Ghana Industrial Customer Workshop held in Accra.

It was on the theme: “Electrification as a Catalyst for Growth,” and brought together energy experts from across Siemens to share insights into the most advanced technology suited to regional requirements.

Mr Amuna said the development had led to Ghana exporting power to La Cote d’Ivoire, Benin and Togo in recent weeks.

However, he advised that the country must watch the growth in domestic demand so as to avoid her going back to the challenges in the past.

Mr Edmund Acheampong, the CEO of Siemens Ghana, attributed the current economic growth to the stability in electricity supply.

“In 2015…as my fellow Ghanaians will recall, at the highest of the energy challenges in Ghana, we all saw the crippling effect it had on the economy.

“However, from late 2016 till date we see gradual improvements in the supply of electricity for industrial and domestic use [and] we are beginning to see the Ghanaian economy revitalised as a result,” he said.

Provisional estimates from the Ghana Statistical Service showed Ghana’s economy grew by 8.5 percent in 2017, bringing to the fore the importance of electrification as a catalyst.

Mr Acheampong said with a growing population and the Government plans for scaling up industrialisation, the country’s energy needs would expand, adding that Siemens stood ready to provide the technology and solutions to boost supply.

“Siemens is here to provide the cutting age technology and solutions for Ghana as the need for adequate power generation and supply for both domestic and industrial use becomes more urgent with the increasing population numbers,” he said.

Making reference to Siemens legacy in Ghana over the past two years in oil and gas, industrialisation and energy, Mr Acheampong said through the partnership with local firms his outfit was contributing close to 330 megawatts of power onto the national grid.

In addition, he said Siemens was supplying three compression trenches to support the gas compressing station.

Together with Rotan Energy, Mr Acheampong said Siemens would develop and build the most “efficient” and environmentally friendly thermal plant in Ghana with the capacity of about 660 megawatts.

Mr Andreas Pistauer, the Senior Vice President of Power & Gas, Sub-Saharan Africa, said it was essential to keep the market informed about the latest offerings.

“Ghana is a strategic partner for us in West Africa and we value every touch point and interface with our country partners,” he said.