Ghana’s power supply which, in recent times, has been erratic and sparked public criticisms of the government, is likely to improve in the coming days as the Volta River Authority (VRA) has finally completed the installation of the Ameri Power Plant at Anwomaso near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
The Plant is due for inauguration by President Akufo-Addo on Wednesday, 17th April 2024.
According to sources within the Volta River Authority (VRA), six units which are about 150MW out of the total capacity of 250MW have been installed and technically tested for inauguration by President Akufo-Addo.
The reconnection of the Ameri Power Plant to the national grid is to improve power supply and boost economic activities, especially in the Ashanti Region.
The Ameri Plant was previously located at Aboadze in the Western Region and utilising natural gas produced from Ghana’s Jubilee and Sankofa fields.
However, few years later, the Ministry of Energy, upon the advice of Ghana Grid Company decided to relocate the plant to Anwomaso to stabilise the grid since all the power plants were located in the southern part of Ghana.
The relocation of the Ameri Power Plant to the Ashanti Region is aimed to ensure stability to the national grid and ensure power reliability in the Ashanti Region.
Ameri Power Plant which is on a wheel was procured from the UAE-based Africa & Middle East Resources Investment Group in 2015 by the erstwhile government, when the West African nation was experiencing an erratic power supply due to a shortfall in electricity generation.
The plant cost US$510 million and it was to be managed by its owners for five years and later transferred to the Government of Ghana under the Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) agreement.
The Ameri deal was one of the numbers of power deals which generated public anger, with the then opposition, the New Patriotic Party, now in government, accusing the then administration of ripping the nation.
After negotiations between the current government and the Ameri Group, the latter waived over US$2 million of the cost of the plant.
In 2022, the plant was handed over to Ghana and VRA was assigned to manage the plant.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com