Industry not getting enough power

Rising household power consumption in Ghana is thwarting attempts to increase electricity supply to spur industrialisation, the Volta River Authority (VRA) has said.

The country’s electricity demand and consumption is rising at between 8-10 percent annually. Demand and consumption hit 1,664 megawatts in 2011 and grew to 1,800 megawatts in 2012. However, the bulk of this demand, according to the VRA, is for domestic or household consumption.

The Authority estimates that household electricity consumption currently accounts for 62 percent of total power consumed, while commercial consumption -- which describes power consumed by small or micro businesses -- accounts for 18 percent. Industrial or large-scale consumption accounts for 20 percent of the total.

“A large percentage of the power generated in this country is consumed domestically, leaving very little for commercial and industrial use. If we want to develop our industries and create employment, the opposite must be the case,” Ekow Acquah, Manager, Sales Contracts and Regulations of the VRA, said in an interview with the B&FT.

“In advanced countries, domestic consumption is very little, leaving enough power for commercial activities and industrial use. In Ghana, we build glass and concrete houses and fit in large air-conditioners and lights that work even during the day.”

Mr. Acquah said “We must work at reversing the current trend in order to develop the industrial sector.”

VRA estimates that for a country growing rapidly at a rate of about 10 percent per year and using under 2,000 megawatts of electricity, Ghana ought to be bringing on-stream 200 megawatts of new capacity every year.

This additional capacity will require US$200million of investment; however, Government is not able to keep up with that kind of investment.

Government at present is pinning its hopes on gas fuel -- expected from the pipeline project being undertaken by the Ghana Gas Company -- to secure sufficient, cost-effective supply of electricity in the medium-term.

Industries have urged Government to attract the private sector into the production and distribution of electricity by laying down clear-cut and transparent contractual arrangements, and revamping the entire value-chain of production.