Government says it will meet projected energy growth target

Accra, Sept. 1, GNA – Government is committed towards improving huge losses in energy distribution network and would increase and strengthen installed generation capacity to meet the country’s projected energy growth rate of 14 per cent for 2011.

Dr Joe Oteng Adjei, the Minister of Energy, said the government had made it a policy to increase the country’s current installed generation capacity of 2000 megawatts by 150 per cent by 2015.

This was contained in a speech read on his behalf at a three-day Institutional Reforms Exchange Programme organised for Chief Executive Officers and Director Generals of West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) Member Utilities in Accra on Thursday.

Dr Oteng Adjei expressed hope that the increased generation capacity supported by effective power pooling infrastructure would enable Ghana become “a power hub for the West African sub-region.”

He said he was optimistic that replication of effective national energy development strategies in the sub-region would end the frequent reported energy crisis.

Mr Kweku Awotwi, the Chief Executive Officer of Volta River Authority, said the Exchange Programme was to provide the energy sector of WAPP-member countries the opportunity to dialogue, network and exploit new opportunities of assessing and improving strategies for effective implementation of WAPP programmes.

Mr Amadou Diallo, Secretary General of WAPP, said the programme would include field trips to facilities at Akosombo and Kpong to share experiences of the impact of reforms in the energy sector.

WAPP was formed by Member States of the Economic Community of West Africa States to establish a well-functioning, cooperative, power pooling mechanisms within the framework of regional integration.

It is expected to provide the citizenry of the Community an increased access to stable and reliable electricity at affordable costs through the WAPP Generation and Transmission System infrastructure.