The Republic of Ghana will, by the end of March, 2021 connect 50MW solar farm executed by the country’s second largest state power generation company, Bui Power Authority, to the national electricity grid.
This will eventually boost electricity supply in the West African nation.
The 50MW solar farm, which is the first phase of 250MW solar project, is the second largest solar farm in West Africa after 50MW Akita solar farm in the Republic of Mali.
The first phase was commissioned November last year by Ghana’s former Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo.
It will be the first solar utility scale to be connected to the national grid. Although there are three solar farms, generating power for the country none of them is on the national grid.
Dr. George Tettey, who is the deputy chief executive of BPA, told some selected journalists last week at a media engagement that engineers of BPA are currently conducting series of tests on the solar farm to ensure its integrity before it would be connected to the grid.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs) in the Republic of Ghana has denied reports suggesting that they have started charging the new sanitation and pollution levy on petrol and diesel, hence the recent hike in fuel prices.
According to the Association, the recent upward adjustment in petrol and diesel prices are as a result of the rising crude oil prices on the world market and market forces and not the addition of the new levies being proposed by the government.
A litre of petrol is currently being sold at GHS5.4
In a statement signed by Kwaku Agyemang-Duah, who is the Industry Coordinator and CEO of the Association and copied to energynewsafrica.com, the Association said they would start charging the new levies when Parliament approves the 2021 Budget and Economic statement of the government.
“The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) would like to state unequivocally that, the current fuel prices on the market are not a reaction to the proposed taxes/levies, but rather the existing world crude oil prices and market forces.
“Subsequently, the impact of the proposed taxes/levies would only take effect when parliament has approved the 2021 Budget and assented by the President of the Republic of Ghana and duly gazetted,” the statement indicated.
The association served notice that it would react to the proposed new levies at the appropriate time.
Below is the full statement by the Association of Oil Marketing Companies
We have monitored on the media landscape, the enthusiastic reaction towards a purported increase in petroleum prices at the pump, following the proposed review on taxes/levies, as presented to parliament on Friday, 12th March 2021.
The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) would like to state unequivocally that, the current fuel prices on the market are not a reaction to the proposed taxes/levies, but rather the existing world crude oil prices and market forces.
Subsequently, the impact of the proposed taxes/levies would only take effect when parliament has approved the 2021 budget, assented by the President of the Republic of Ghana and duly gazetted.
At the appropriate time, OMCs will react accordingly, taking into cognizance the effective cost of operations.
Nevertheless, the AOMC is grateful to Government under the COVID-19 Support (Section 117), for the introduction of extension of the waiver of interest and penalties, as incentive for early payment of accumulated tax arrears.
However, we would like to propose a review on the condition that, beneficiaries must fulfill the first quarter tax obligation for the year 2021, and also consider the increment of the number of days for payment of petroleum taxes from 21 + 4 days to 40 days, to ensure effective collection of all adduced taxes.
Further, we would like to assure the general public that OMCs/LPGMCs will continue to pursue and uphold consumers’ interests and will always be at their service.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
A former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s largest state power generation company Volta River Authority (VRA), Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby has criticised the Akufo-Addo led administration for proposing new taxes on petrol and diesel.
According to him, there is no justification for the introduction of Sanitation and Pollution taxes on petroleum products.
He said the sector has become an easy avenue for the government to rake in money through new levies and taxes hence the many tax components for fuel purchased.
Speaking on Citi FM, based in Ghana’s capital, Accra, the former VRA boss noted that since the administration of President John Agyekum Kufuor, several taxes have been slapped on the petroleum sector, leading to the high cost of fuel with consumers continually bearing the cost.
“It is totally unjustified… There is no justification, it [petroleum products] just happens to be a low-hanging fruit that you can just slap anything on,” he said.
He suggested that some special taxes introduced for specific purposes should be scrapped to offer petroleum customers some relief rather than the introduction of new taxes.
“20 years ago, President Kufuor introduced what he called the Refinery Recovery levy. That was supposed to last for four years but 20 years on, it is still here, now as the energy sector recovery levy. In 2015, oil prices collapsed and Mahama government instead of reducing prices according to the formula said our revenues are down because the datum prices of oil have gone down, so we need to plough back revenue, so there was a 2-year special petroleum levy. I think 8 years on, it is still on. I will suggest that if these two temporary taxes which were meant to address specific issues were removed, that alone will reduce taxes,” he said.
Dr. Wereko-Brobby said, “the idea that sanitation taxes should be put on petroleum doesn’t make sense. I think government has been dishonest with the people of Ghana and not just see petroleum as the big cow for ripping off people.”
He expressed concern that any further increase in the price of petroleum products could lead to other aspects of the economy being affected negatively.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The world needs to shift energy investments to low-carbon energy sources and boost those investments by 30 percent to a total of US$131 trillion by 2050 if it is to achieve the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said in a report on Tuesday.
Currently, government plans envisage U$98 trillion in energy systems by the middle of this century, but this should be boosted by 30 percent so that the world remains on the 1.5 degrees Celsius path of the Paris Agreement goals, IRENA said in its World Energy Transitions Outlook.
The US$131 trillion cumulative investment by 2050 would mean annual investments of U$4.4 trillion in clean energy solutions.
More than 80 percent of the investment over the next three decades, or some US$4 trillion a year, needs to be invested in energy transition technologies (excluding fossil fuels and nuclear) such as renewables, energy efficiency, end-use electrification, power grids, flexibility innovation (hydrogen), and carbon removal measures, according to IRENA.
According to the agency’s analysis, US$24 trillion of investment should be redirected from fossil fuels to energy transition technologies over the period to 2050.
In the 1.5°C Scenario, fossil fuel production should decline by more than 75 percent by 2050, with total fossil fuel consumption continuously declining from 2021 onwards.
Oil demand would decline significantly by around 85 percent by 2050 compared to the 2018 level, IRENA said, while coal as power generation has to be phased out for reaching a 1.5°C Scenario.
Currently, even if many forecasters say that peak oil demand will occur within a decade or two, all of them see demand plateauing, not plunging, after the peak, while coal demand in Asia continues to rise, led by China, India, and Southeast Asia.
The 1.5°C Scenario will not only need a drastic reduction of oil and coal demand. It will also need a significant increase in renewable energy capacity, which needs to grow tenfold. This would mean that annually, the world will need more than 840 GW of new renewable capacity additions, up from around 200 GW added each year in recent years, IRENA said.
“The recent trends show that the gap between where we are and where we should be is not decreasing but widening. We are heading in the wrong direction,” IRENA Director-General, Francesco La Camera, said in a note in the report.
Source:Oilprice.com
The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), the implementing agency for Ghana Power Compact II has partnered with KonneKt World, a global professional, mentoring and coaching platform, for the express purpose of training female STEM graduates under the Ghana Power Compact Internship and Mentoring Program as well as National Service Persons in the Energy Sector.
This is in line with MiDA’s commitment to providing training, particularly for female graduates, in the skills required for entering the job market. The training program which is being delivered to 100 graduates within a two-week period began on Monday, March 8, 2021, International Women Day, and is expected to end on Friday, March 19, 2021.
The training is focused on how these recent graduates will launch their careers, in areas such as Self-Leadership and Leading others, how to conduct a job search, prepare winning Curriculum Vitae (CV) to highlight their talents, cover letters, coaching for Interviews and building professional networks for job opportunities as well as entrepreneurship, highlighting the entire process of creating a start-up business from an idea to developing a business plan to look for funding.
“We are happy with this partnership with KonneKt World, which is consistent with our objective supporting female students in STEM fields to gain practical skills relevant for the job market in the energy sector, build their confidence, and improve their coping skills to deal with the stereotypes and negative attitudes about women in STEM; as well as strengthen networking for employment opportunities”, a statement from the leadership of MiDA indicated.
Phyllis Kuenyehia, the CEO of KonneKt World, and Human Capital and Workforce Development Strategist said, these young female STEM graduates, through KonneKt, have found the right power source to push them to the ultimate in their careers. She believes that “the power of a woman lies strongly in her connection to the right power source, one that empowers her to explore all existing opportunities for growth”.
Geraldine Mensah-Dartey, a Data Scientist, a Career Transformation Strategist, and a storyteller is the lead trainer for the program. She told the participants and the sponsors, “my goal is to give people real, tangible examples and tools, through storytelling, that can make an immediate impact in their hearts, minds, and ultimately careers, no matter where they are in their journey.”
Geraldine Mensah-Dartey, a Data Scientist and Career Transformation Strategist
The Ghana Power Compact Internship and Mentoring Program (GPCIMP) is a program for young women in tertiary institutions, Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) offering Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses to have relevant information, knowledge, and support to make career choices.
The KonneKt Mentoring program, dubbed the KonneKt Xperience, is designed to help its mentees expand their knowledge and skills, gain valuable advice from a more experienced person, and build their professional networks.
The KonneKt Xperience focuses on five (5) interest areas:
● Education
● Career
● Emotional Wellbeing
● Relationship
● Networking
From navigating through your educational or academic goals, career path choice, skills development, advice on working in a changing environment, establishing a balanced emotional wellbeing to managing professional and personal relationships, your KonneKt Mentor will guide you, answer your questions and share practical strategies for success.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The African Development Bank has committed $530 million to finance the construction of a 343 km, 400 kV central-south transmission line that will connect the north and south transmission grids in Angola and allow for the distribution of clean energy between the two regions.
The north of Angola has a surplus of more than 1,000 MW of mostly renewable power, whereas the south relies on expensive diesel generators, supported by government subsidies.
Transmission capacity will increase by 2,250 MW and eliminate the need for polluting, diesel-powered generators in southern provinces. The project, once operational in 2023, will avert the consumption of 46.8 billion litres of diesel per year in the south, cutting 80 megatons of CO2 emissions. The government of Angola will save more than $130 million per year in diesel subsidies.
The finance package, approved in December 2019 by the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank, consists of $480 million in financing from the Bank, along with $50 million from the Africa Growing Together Fund, a $2 billion facility sponsored by the People’s Bank of China and administered by the African Development Bank.
The funding covers the first phase of the Energy Sector Efficiency and Expansion Program (ESEEP) in Angola, which will assist the government to connect the country’s transmission grids and tackle limited operational capacity within the Angolan power distribution utility ENDE. Around 80% of residential customers in Angola are not metered, resulting in financial losses and reliance on government subsidies. As part of the ESEEP, 860,000 pre-paid meters will be installed and 400,000 new customers will be connected to the grid and effectively metered.
At the regional level, the ESEEP will be the first step to enabling a connection to the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP). The new transmission line will become the backbone for the distribution of power to the southern provinces of Angola and Namibia and will enable further power trading between countries in the region.
The funding follows two other recent Bank contributions to Angola’s energy sector strategy. In 2015, the Bank approved a $1 billion power sector reform loan for Angola, which resulted in the creation of an independent regulator and the unbundling of the sector into distribution, transmission and distribution companies.
Angola has significantly improved capacity, operational efficiency, and sustainability of the electricity sector. In the period 2015-2019, Angola’s total installed capacity in renewable energy rose from 1,017 MW to 2,763 MW, mainly through the improved exploitation of the country’s abundant hydropower.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom, has lost 104 employers and contractors to the covid-19, energynewsafrica.com can report.
The figure is out of the total number of 4,190 employees who have tested positive for the virus since its outbreak of the virus in the country in 2020.
This is contained in a press statement the company issued on Monday when it gave updates about steps being taken to address challenges in the country’s power sector.
“Eskom has recorded a cumulative 4,190 positive COVID-19 cases, including employees and contractors, as at 03 March, 2021.
“Sadly, we have lost 104 employees and contractors to the pandemic. We extend our sincere condolences to the affected families and relatives,” the statement said.
South Africa has recorded about 1,530,000 cases with 1,460,000 recoveries and 51,421 deaths.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s largest independent power producer, Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Limited, has outlined plans to make huge investment in the renewable energy sector to add to the country’s energy capacity.
The leading IPP in the West African nation has been operating 560MW combined cycle power plant in Kpone near Tema in the Greater Accra Region. It now wants to venture into RE to contribute to the government’s plan of achieving 10 percent of RE penetration into the country’s energy mix.
Making a presentation at a media encounter Friday, Assistant Manager in charge of Commerce at Asogli, Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor mentioned that Sunon Asogli is determined to power Ghana through RE in the area of wind, solar and waste –to- energy.
According to him, the company has completed feasibility study in the area of wind energy and wants to make an investment of US$127 million in that regard.
He added that the power entity is also currently conducting feasibility study to build 100MW solar farm at Dawa in the Ada District in the Greater Accra Region.
Apart from the above RE proposed projects, Asogli also wants to establish 35MW waste -to- energy power plant to take care of the country.
Elikplim Apetorgbor indicated that Shenzhen Energy Company, which is the parent company of Sunon Asogli, currently manages world’s largest waste to energy power plants in China and manages about 38,820 tonnes per day of waste and would, therefore, employ the best technology to ensure that Ghana’s waste would not only be recycled but also put into good use by generating electricity.
According to the 2020 World Bank report, Ghana generates three million tonnes of solid waste and spends GHS 6.7 million (EUR 1.15 million) annually managing it.
Elikplim Apetorgbor, said the World Bank report has projected that there would be growth in municipal waste and this is the reason why Asogli wants to come in to help Ghana to deal with it.
“We want to take care of the waste by putting it to good use by generating electricity,” he stressed.
The waste to energy plant which would be situated on a 25-acre land is expected to process about 1500 tonnes of waste per day.
Moratorium
The Government of Ghana has placed moratorium on the signing of new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) since 2018.
This is because the country currently has a total installed generation capacity of about 5,300MW while peak demand is hovering around 3,200MW.
The Government of Ghana pays around $500 million annually for excess power or power the country does not consume.
Mr Elikplim Apetorbor stated that Asogli would not require any of Government of Ghana’s guarantee for its proposed RE projects and, therefore, urged the government to lift the moratorium on signing new power purchase agreement to enable them execute the proposed projects which would contribute immensely to the economy in terms of power generation and job creation.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Liberia’s efforts to transform the lives of poor people have received a huge boost with financing approved by the World Bank.
Two new operations will increase access to sustainable, reliable and affordable energy, and boost economic recovery by providing employment opportunities and business skills training to vulnerable Liberians.
Funded by the International Development Association (IDA), these projects are aimed at improving Liberia’s economy and helping to build resilience for vulnerable households that are greatly at risk of falling into poverty due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The support programme includes the following:
• The Liberia Electricity Sector Strengthening and Access Project (LESSAP) is the first project of a multi-phase programmatic approach (MPA) with a goal to provide sustainable, reliable and affordable electricity to 632,500 Liberians. The project will rehabilitate and expand electricity infrastructure and provide sustainable solutions for electricity access. The LESSAP will target mainly two key areas – grid electrification in the greater Monrovia area and provide for a sustainable business model for scaling up renewable energy based mini-grids and stand-alone solar systems in remote areas. The project will also deliver off-grid solar electrification to about 200 health facilities, in particular to help build resilience against COVID-19. The total financing envelope for the MPA is $180 million in IDA support with the first phase commitment of $44 million in IDA credit and an IDA grant of $15 million. The project also includes grant support of $2.5 million from the Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) and $2.7 million from Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Fund (PHRD), both of which will be administered by the World Bank.
• The Recovery of Economic Activity for Liberian Informal Sector Employment Project (REALISE) will increase access to employment opportunities for some of the most vulnerable households in the informal sector who are at risk of falling deeper into poverty. The project will provide grants and business skills training to 4,000 vulnerable households to revive or start small businesses, as well as temporary employment and wages to 15,000 poor individuals, half of whom will be women. It will target low-income communities and poor families in Greater Monrovia. REALISE project will be implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment, utilising implementation capacities developed under the ongoing Liberia Youth Opportunities Project. The project will be financed through IDA concessional terms of $5 million credit and $5 million grant.
Improved energy access to stimulate economic growth
Poverty remains widespread in Liberia and is now on the rise. An estimated 44% of Liberians were living with less than $2 a day in 2016 and this is now projected to reach 52% in 2021. Access to healthcare, education and basic utilities like energy are also particularly low compared to the rest of the region.
“Given the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the economy and people’s livelihoods, improved energy access will
stimulate inclusive economic growth while support to the informal sector will help the most vulnerable Liberians to recover from the loss in incomes,” said Khwima Nthara, World Bank country manager in Liberia.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Liberia’s economy and people’s livelihoods and poses a major threat going forward. When the global pandemic emerged in early 2020, Liberia was already facing a challenging domestic and external environment. Weak consumption and declining output had caused the Liberian economy to contract by an estimated 2.3% in 2019 and a further 2.9% in 2020.
According to the High-Frequency Phone Survey of Households conducted by the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services, more than 70% of households reported experiencing food shortage and increased food prices. This call for a comprehensive response focusing both on the need to protect the poor and vulnerable in the short term, as well as support economic recovery in the medium term.
“This is a demonstration of the Bank’s strong commitment to Liberia. The approved package of support will be a big boost to our COVID-19 recovery efforts and our vision to transform the economy through infrastructure development,” said Samuel D. Tweah Jr, Liberia’s minister of finance and development planning.
Source: Esi-Africa.com
The Government of Ghana, last Friday, announced plans to review the country’s Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA) with the proposition of the introduction of Sanitation and Pollution levies on gasoline (petrol) and gasoil (diesel).
This will mean an additional 10 Ghanaian pesewas on both petrol and diesel.
Petroleum consumer advocacy group, Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has criticised the government for this, describing it as a lazy approach.
But what is this new levy on fuel seeking to do?
According to the 2020 World Bank report, the 25 recycling companies in the West African nation pay at least Ghc 6.7 million (EUR 1.15 million) to plastic waste collectors as part of effort in managing waste.
The report projected that municipal waste in the country is expected to increase to about 52 and 70 percent between now and 2040.
Presenting the 2021 Budget and Economic Policy statement of the Akufo-Addo-administration, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Caretaker Finance Minister, Osei- Kyei Mensah explained why it has become necessary to introduce the new levies on petrol and diesel.
He said revenue realised would be used to do the following:
i. Improve urban air quality and combat air pollution;
ii. Support the re-engineering of landfill sites at Kpone and Oti;
iii. Support fumigation of public spaces, schools, health centres and markets;
iv. Revamp/reconstruct poorly managed landfill facilities;
v. Construct more sustainable state-of-the-art waste treatment plants both solid and liquid in selected locations across the country;
vi. Construct waste recycling and compost plants across the country;
vii. Construct more sanitation facilities to accelerate the elimination of open defaecation.
Viii.Construct final treatment and disposal sites for solid and liquid waste;
ix. Provide dedicated support for the annual maintenance and management of major landfill sites and other waste treatment plants and facilities across the country; and
x. Construct medical waste treatment facilities to prevent generation of infectious diseases especially under the Coronavirus Treatment Programme.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom is making notable progress in the recovery of its operational performance, with the implementation of the Generation Recovery Programme (9-Point Plan) and reliability maintenance recovery (RMR) programme beginning to yield the desired outcome.
Despite the initial challenges posed by COVID-19 lockdown, high levels of maintenance have been sustained with planned maintenance gradually increasing to between 5 500MW and 7 000MW or approximately 12%.
“While there is an improvement on some of aspects of the generation plant due to concerted efforts by Eskom employees, we are not where we want to be in terms of performance. The ultimate aim is to improve performance to reduce the risk of loadshedding. The enormity of this task cannot be overstated,” Eskom Group Chief Executive, André de Ruyter stated.
Owing to the 9-Point Plan, which places correcting new build defects top of the list, the availability and reliability of the synchronised units at Medupi are showing steady improvement. Major defects at Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme have been addressed, resulting in each of the four units performing at the full capacity of 331MW since February 2021, from a maximum 245MW previously. Coal stock levels continue to improve, with average coal stock at 52 days by the end of February, excluding Medupi and Kusile. There is no power station below the Grid Code minimum requirement of 20 days.
The resilience of the power system during heavy rains and the cyclone storm Eloise is a clear indication that the significant investment in the wet coal management strategy is paying dividends. While there also has been significant progress in the reduction of emissions across the Generation fleet, the new minimum emissions standards now in effect, mean there is a lot work still to be done to fully meet compliance levels. This is because some of the electrostatic precipitators on the older facilities are incapable of meeting the new minimum emissions standards.
The Build Programme is progressing well, with Kusile Unit 2 having successfully achieved commercial operation on 29 October 2020, adding 720MW to the national grid. Kusile Unit 3 and Medupi Unit 1 are on track to achieve commercial operation during the next few weeks and months. The addition of Medupi 1 to the grid will bring the number of units in commercial operation at the power station to six, signalling the completion of the construction project.
The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station continues to operate efficiently and within the required safety parameters, and at the lowest primary energy cost of baseload stations. While Unit 1 is currently on a refuelling and maintenance outage, Unit 2 is safely generating electricity to the grid.
Transmission network performance has seen a marked improvement, however ongoing theft and vandalism of infrastructure continues to impact operations, greatly increasing the risk of power supply interruptions to customers. Distribution is also prone to criminal activities and to mitigate this Eskom is embarking on several security enhancement projects and is also working closely with the law enforcement agencies. Network overloading remains an area of great concern. To protect electricity infrastructure in certain high-density areas associated with high illegal connections, Eskom continues to implement load reduction during peak times.
On the people side, critical vacancies at some of the power stations have been filled. There is currently only one vacant General Manager Position as a result of death in service and the process to fill this vacancy alongside that of the Group Executive for Generation is underway. Eskom has recorded a cumulative 4 190 positive COVID-19 cases, including employees and contractors, as at 03 March 2021. Sadly, we have lost 104 employees and contractors to the pandemic. We extend our sincere condolences to the affected families and relatives.
Eskom Chief Operating Officer, Jan Oberholzer, said: “The unreliability of the ageing fleet, with an uncertainty of about 6000MW of capacity at any given time, will remain until the reliability maintenance programme is able to address the historical maintenance backlog. The power system remains vulnerable and volatile with the risk of loadshedding significantly reduced after the completion of the reliability maintenance by September 2021.”
“Recovering the operational performance is our top priority and we will not compromise on reliability maintenance and mid-life refurbishment,” concluded Oberholzer.
Eskom continues to ask South Africans to reduce demand to help to reduce or avoid loadshedding.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
UK lawmakers are considering a ban on new oil exploration licenses in the North Sea as a move away from fossil fuels.
This is likely to result in job losses as well as impact negatively on the Scottish economy.
Britain is considering options that include ending permits in 2040, and an immediate temporary pause in licensing, the Telegraph newspaper reported. It’s also possible that there will be no changes.
The UK has a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and is increasingly looking to renewables for a greater share of energy.
Oil output from the North Sea has dropped since the turn of the century as fields have got older.
Still, the region is crucial for Scotland’s tax revenue and creating jobs.
Some production from the area also make up the global Brent benchmark pricing.
About 39% of the 270,000 jobs in the UK that the oil industry supports are in Scotland, according to the Telegraph.
The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), an energy think tank in the Republic of Ghana has stressed the need for the Government of Ghana (GOG) to effectively manage the energy sector to drive economic growth and development.
ACEP insists that to achieve this goal, government must focus attention on maximizing the opportunities in the energy sector and address the challenges it presents to the economy.
This was made known in a presentation via Zoom by the Policy Lead on Petroleum and Conventional Energy of ACEP, Mr. Kodzo Yaotse, during which he highlighted the issues that required attention and proposed some critical activities for policy direction by government.
Mr. Yaotse insisted that the GOG should make available information regarding excess electricity produced by the various power producing plants in order to be seen as credible and justify the claim that government was paying for the excess electricity generated.
“The government has consistently indicated that it is negotiating PPAs to relieve the country of excess capacity charges. However, there is no transparency around the negotiations of these PPAs.
“The recent US$134 million judgment debt against the government over the termination of the Emergency Power Agreement with Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC) Limited is only an indication of the poor judgment that has characterized such negotiations,” Mr. Yaotse added.
ACEP therefore asked GOG to prioritize the conversion of single cycle plants, particularly the KTPP and Ameri plants, which were still in the early stages of their lifecycle, to combined cycle plant to improve their production and cost efficiency to reduce consumer tariffs.
In relating the excess capacity burden of Government to her preparedness to encourage renewable energy, ACEP asked GOG to lift the suspension of the issuance of licenses for embedded generation.
Mr. Yaotse therefore observed that, in the interest of climate action and the energy transition, Government should be seen encouraging the penetration of renewable energy instead of hindering it.
On the ongoing debate about Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), Mr. Yaotse insisted that Ghana must optimize its domestic gas and suspend plans to import LNG.
“GNPC should be subjected to strict proof of the identified market that warrants the risks of importing LNG, and that, if by 2022, Ghana is unable to consume the OCTP makeup gas, some people should be held criminally liable for deliberately causing financial loss to the state,” he said.
In terms of power transmission, Mr. Yaotse said the sustainability of GRIDCo depended on a reformed power sector that paid for the investments in the transmission of power. “The fiscal position of government makes it difficult for the budget to continue to sustain investments in the transmission system,” he explained.
The Petroleum and Conventional Energy Policy Lead said, in the short term, some parts of the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA) proceeds should be made available for investment in critical equipment in the transmission system, and that ongoing upgrade works should be expedited to relieve power consumers of the frequent outages and low voltage currently being experienced.
Mr. Yaotse also asked GOG to revert to a transparent process to attract private capital into the distribution sector. “If this is not done in the short to medium term, the entire power sector would be in serious distress, unless government is willing to sacrifice other socio-economic investment to continue to unsustainably prop-up the power distribution sector,” he indicated.
In answering some queries from the press after the presentation, the Executive Director of ACEP, Mr. Ben Boakye said, in order for government to take these concerns seriously, there was the need to project the conversation such that it drew the needed attention.
Mr. Boakye therefore charged the media to stage a campaign that would draw attention to the energy concerns in Ghana to guide government prioritize the needful.
Source :Ghana New Agency
Government of Ghana has announced plans to relocate the Ameri Power Plant, currently located at Aboadze, in the western part of the West African nation to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region to help stabilise the national grid.
The Ameri power plant, which is made up of 10 power units, are power plants installed on a deck barge and technically referred to as “floating power plants”.
Presenting the 2021 Budget Statement in Parliament on Friday, Ghana’s Caretaker Finance Minister, Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated that although the country experienced adequate power generation capacity in 2020, this decision to relocate the Ameri Plant along with the completion of other power projects will help stabilise Ghana’s power supply.
“Mr. Speaker, in 2020, the country had adequate generation capacity to meet the demand for domestic, commercial and industrial customer…In 2021, the Ameri Plant will be relocated to Kumasi to help stabilise the national grid”.
According to the Caretaker for the Ministry of Finance, this decision by government will also help address the recent power outages experienced in major parts of the country.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu further stated that in addition to the above-stated initiatives, Government has resolved to address the present challenges by completing various transmission line projects to support the national grid.
These projects include, Lot 1 (Kumasi – Kintampo) of the 330kV Kumasi-Bolgatanga Transmission Line Project, which according to Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, is near completion and the A4BSP (Pokuase Bulk Supply Point) that is 92 per cent complete.
The 161kV Volta-Achimota-Mallam Transmission Line Upgrade Project, that also has completion rate of 53 percent for the Volta-Achimota section, and 31 percent completion rate for the Achimota-Mallam transmission line.
The remedial works on the Aboadze-Prestea 330kV Transmission Line is also said to be 90 per cent complete.
Other projects to be pursued by government this year include “the construction of a new substation at Dunkwa-on-Offin, reconstruction of over-aged 161kV transmission lines from Aboadze through Dunkwa to Asawinso with higher capacity, and the reconstruction of the existing 330kV and 161kV Aboadze Switchyards.”
He also informed the House that the 200MW Amandi Power Project is currently at the last phase of commissioning.
“Phase 1A of the 400MW Early Power Project (147MW) is currently going through commissioning,” he added.
Source; www.energynewsafrica.com
