Kenya Power is marked for a major split in its business that will see it only distribute electricity to large commercial and industrial consumers as part of proposed reforms by the Ministry of Energy to boost efficiency and cut costs.
A White Paper published by the ministry shows that the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) will take over the role of distributing electricity to household consumers, relieving Kenya Power (KPLC) of the pressure of juggling between serving industrialists who account for more than half its sales and millions of household customers who take up about a third of dispatched power.
“Reconfigure KPLC and REREC across consumer segments so that KPLC is positioned to serve large commercial and industrial consumers, while REREC is positioned to serve the social mandate for household consumers,” the paper published by Energy Principal Secretary Gordon Kihalangwa recommends.
REREC is currently mandated to implement rural electrification projects and spearhead uptake of green energy, except geothermal.
Dr. Kihalangwa said the proposal is subject to public participation. “We’re seeking stakeholders’ view on this matter after which we will develop a work plan and timelines of implementation. It is work in progress,” he said.
The paper recommends secondment of KPLC staff to REREC to help with the transition and an audit of KPLC distribution assets to smoothen the changeover.
The latest data by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) shows that KPLC added some 317,296 customers in the six months to December as the economy continued to recover from Covid-19 disruptions.
The utility had 8.59 million customers by the end of last year, from 8.27 million in June 2021, according to EPRA. The additional customers helped raise electricity unit sales by 8.7 per cent to 4,562 Gigawatt hours.
If implemented, this would be the second major shake-up of KPLC operations in less than a year after EPRA in December 2021 removed it from a key role that determined the amount and type of electricity dispatched to the national grid. The changes will have an impact on Kenya Power’s revenue base and cost structure. Households will be hoping that REREC will improve on reliability of Kenya Power’s supply, which is affected by its ageing infrastructure.
In the 2021 changes, the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) took over the operations of the National Energy Control Centre (NCC), which manages the uptake of energy from various sources for distribution on the national grid, to curb conflict of interest and seal loopholes abused by some cartels to force costly power on consumers.
“KETRACO, as a system operator, will be responsible for the following functions: managing and operating the national control centre and other infrastructure established by the national government for the purpose of carrying out system operation,” EPRA said when it announced the changes.
Under the new role, KETRACO is now also tasked with determining the best mix of cost-friendly electricity supplied to the grid.
KPLC had for decades managed the NCC amid complaints that some of its rogue staff colluded with some independent power producers to load large quantities of expensive thermal power on the grid even when there were cheaper options from sources such as geothermal.
For instance, KPLC was in 2020 at the centre of a storm for prioritising expensive thermal power over cheaper options such as geothermal and hydro, effectively setting up consumers for higher electricity prices.
This followed a data release by EPRA that showed that the power distributor had in September last year taken the highest proportion of the expensive thermal power in more than a year while reserving the lowest slot for the cheaper geothermal power.
It was established that, in total, KenGen’s available geothermal capacity for the month was 499.7 megawatts (MW), against 410.3MW taken up by the off-taker. This means we had an additional 89.4MW that was not taken up. As a result, consumers paid a higher fuel cost charge—which is influenced by the share of electricity from diesel generators—of Sh2.6 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), up from the Sh2.4 in May 2020.
A task force appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta in March 2020 to review Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) flagged the anomalies in the operations of NCC and recommended that KPLC be removed from managing the key role to curb abuse.
Source: Nation
Russia has said the UN rejected its offer to organise a visit to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant days after the international atomic agency chief said it was “completely out of control“.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi this week urged Moscow and Kyiv to allow experts to visit the site, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, and stabilise the situation to avoid a nuclear accident.
Russian troops seized the plant in early March, shortly after their invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.
Moscow says it has put together a proposal to facilitate the visit but that the UN turned down the offer.
“We were prepared to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency in organising an international mission headed by the Director -General to assess the situation of this largest nuclear power plant on the territory of Europe,” said Igor Vishnevetsky, deputy director of the Russian Non-proliferation and Arms Control Department, according to state-owned media.
“We came to an agreement regarding the timeline of the visits, the very complex logistics, as well as security arrangements. However, just days before the proposed arrival of the IAEA delegation, the Secretariat of the United Nations refused to approve this visit.”
There has been no confirmation from the UN that it rejected the proposal.
“Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated [at the plant]”, Mr Grossi told AP on Tuesday. “What is at stake is extremely serious and extremely grave and dangerous.”
But he has said there are significant challenges in visiting the site, which he described as being in the “paradoxical situation” of being owned and operated by Ukraine within the country’s territory but in the hands of Russia.
The IAEA has faulty and patchy contact with employees at the plant, Mr Grossi said.
“Going there is a very, very complicated thing because it requires the understanding and co-operation of a number of actors,” he said on Wednesday.
“Of course, it’s a Ukrainian facility so it requires Ukraine to agree with it, be comfortable with it and help me carry out the mission.
“At the same time, the plant is occupied by Russia and I have to talk to everybody and especially those who are in control of the place in fulfilling my technical duty.”
The supply chain of the equipment and spare parts at the site has been interrupted, “so we are not sure the plant is getting all it needs,” he said.
There is a lot of nuclear material in need of inspection, he said.
“When you put this together, you have a catalogue of things that should never be happening in any nuclear facility,” Mr Grossi said.
“And this is why I have been insisting from day one that we have to be able to go there to perform this safety and security evaluation, to do the repairs and to assist as we already did in Chernobyl.”
The Russian capture of Zaporizhzhia sparked fears that the largest of Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors could be damaged, setting off another emergency like the 1986 Chernobyl accident, the world’s worst nuclear disaster, which happened about 110 kilometres north of Kyiv.
Russian forces occupied the heavily contaminated Chernobyl site soon after the invasion began but handed control back to the Ukrainians at the end of March.
Mr Grossi visited Chernobyl on April 27 and tweeted that the level of safety was “like a ‘red light’ blinking,” but said later that the IAEA had set up “an assistance mission … that has been very, very successful so far”.
The IAEA needs to go to Zaporizhzhia to ascertain what is actually happening there, to carry out repairs and inspections, and “prevent a nuclear accident from happening”, Mr Grossi said.
Barely four years when Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), one of the energy sector think tanks, raised concerns about the cost involved in the Novation Agreement of 250 Megawatts Ameri Power Plant, there is yet another controversy emerging out of the cost of the relocation of the plant from Aboadze to Kumasi and its operation and maintenance cost.
According to the think tank, while the relocation of the plant is expected to cost the taxpayers US$35.6million, the operation and maintenance cost will cost taxpayers US$1 million per month for three years.
ACEP said this current arrangement is worse than the Novation Agreement which led to President Akufo-Addo relieving former Energy Minister Mr. Boakye Agyarko of his post.
Ameri Power Plant was procured by the erstwhile John Mahama administration through Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group LLC for five years under Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT).
The controversial power plant cost Ghana US$510 million.
In February this year, Ameri Power transferred the plant to the Government of Ghana after the five-year contract had ended.
After its takeover, Ghana is relocating the power plant to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, in a bid to address the persistent power fluctuations and low voltages in Ashanti Region and beyond.
At a news conference in Accra on Tuesday, Kodzo Yaotse, who is the Policy Lead, Petroleum and Conventional Energy at ACEP, said: “The Minister for Energy, in his 17th December 2021 letter to the Volta River Authority (VRA), quotes US$35.6 million as the cost of relocation. However, ACEP has sighted the original proposal from Mytilineos SA, dated 22nd March 2021 to the Ministry, quoting US$25.48 million for the same.
“Instead of negotiating the proposal of the sole-sourced offer downwards, the contract cost has instead increased by 40 per cent, and it is unclear what accounts for such a quantum leap from the proposal amount by Mytilineos SA.”
Another transaction ACEP uncovered in the Minister’s 17th December 2021 letter to VRA, is a US$1 monthly cost Mytilineos has been sole-sourced to operate and maintain the Ameri Plant for three years.
“According to the Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, in Parliament on 1st July 2022, out of the 42 staff to the run the plant, VRA will provide 40 staff to support the operations. This is an admission that VRA can manage the plant as it is practically impossible for the two personnel from Mytilineos SA to be available 24/7 to operate the plant.
“It then raises the fundamental question of the precise role of the two personnel from Mytilineos SA to warrant the payment of US$1 million every month for three years,” Mr Yaotse contested.
An extract of a proposal by Mytilineos SA above
The Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Operations and Management (O&M) contract to Mytilineos SA, as communicated to Parliament by Dr Matthew Prempeh were sole-sourced to Mytilineos SA, with the justification that the company has been the operator of the plant since inception and is, therefore, the best suited to deliver the contract, but Kodzo Yaotse and ACEP argued that, firstly, long-service is not part of the exceptional cases per the Private Public Agreement (PPA) Act to warrant sole-sourcing.
“Furthermore, Mytilineos SA is not the only company with the capacity to relocate trailer-loaded aero-derivative turbines. There are local companies that can deliver the EPC for Ghana,” he challenged the sector Minister.
Recalling a similar significant over-pricing contract in the inept novation agreement in 2018 when the same Mytilineos SA attempted to take over the Ameri contract, ACEP expressed shock at how the same Mytilineos SA had survived the botched novation to reappear with another cost-dynamic sole-sourced contract.
Given this, ACEP demanded that Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh provides Ghanaians with convincing answers.
Responding to some issues raised by ACEP while speaking on Accra- based Peace FM, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Energy Minister, is quoted to have said: “ACEP is only against the Ameri plant relocation because it is going to Kumasi,” connoting tribal hate of ACEP for the people of Kumasi.
But a statement from the think tank rejected the Minister’s assertion, saying: “ACEP is not against the location of a power plant in any part of Ghana. We analyze the decisions of the Energy Ministry based on their strategic or proprietary fit at a particular time. In our statement, we were emphatic that there may be a need for power generation in the middle belt in the medium to long term. However, with the cash-strapped power sector managed by the same Minister, the most optimal decisions must be prioritized. The power sector’s financial situation is worsening every year and requires decisions that, at the barest minimum, reduce the burden and not add on. In 2020 and 2021, the government shouldered total under-recoveries from the sector to over GHS 14 billion (GHS 6.8 billion in 2020, and the cedi equivalent of $1.257 billion in 2021).
“In addition, the sector’s outstanding payments for gas and IPPs are more than $1.2 billion (GHS9.6 billion) for the first half of 2022.”
The Minister is also said to have alleged that the think tank sent its press statement to the opposition party NDC.
According to the think tank, “This is completely false. The Minister cannot provide any evidence to back this claim. Our statement was first read at about 10:15 am and broadcasted on Zoom and Facebook in the presence of the media. Any evidence or trace before this time would confirm what the Minister is claiming. It is important to note that our statements are public documents available to the government and the opposition.”
Additionally, the Energy Minister is also said to have claimed that “VRA is leading the negotiations and not the Ministry of Energy.”
But ACEP, according to all the available evidence showed that the Ministry, at all times, has been Ghana’s negotiating party.
“The proposal from Mytilineos SA for $25.48 million was submitted to the Ministry. The Ministry did the negotiations, applied for PPA approval for $71.6 million ($35.6 million for the relocation and $36 million for the operations and maintenance) and sought the legal opinion of the Attorney General’s office for the contract. It was after these that the VRA Senior Staff Association wrote to protest the negotiations are done by the Ministry.”
Metka_Proposal for Relocation (1)
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The UN nuclear chief has disclosed that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine “is completely out of control” and issued an urgent plea to Russia and Ukraine to quickly allow experts to visit the sprawling complex to stabilize the situation and avoid a nuclear accident.
Rafael Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press that the situation is getting more perilous every day at the Zaporizhzhia plant in the southeastern city of Enerhodar, which Russian troops seized in early March, soon after their Feb. 24. invasion of Ukraine.
“Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated” at the plant, he said. “What is at stake is extremely serious and extremely grave and dangerous.”
Grossi cited many violations of the plant’s safety, adding that it is “in a place where active war is ongoing,” near Russian-controlled territory.
The physical integrity of the plant hasn’t been respected, he said, citing shelling at the beginning of the war when it was taken over and continuing information from Ukraine and Russia accusing each other of attacks at Zaporizhzhia.
There is “a paradoxical situation” in which the plant is controlled by Russia, but its Ukrainian staff continues to run its nuclear operations, leading to inevitable moments of friction and alleged violence, he said. While the IAEA has some contacts with staff, they are “faulty” and “patchy,” he said.
Grossi said the supply chain of equipment and spare parts has been interrupted, “so we are not sure the plant is getting all it needs.” The IAEA also needs to perform very important inspections to ensure that nuclear material is being safeguarded, “and there is a lot of nuclear material there to be inspected,” he said.
“When you put this together, you have a catalog of things that should never be happening in any nuclear facility,” Grossi said. “And this is why I have been insisting from day one that we have to be able to go there to perform this safety and security evaluation, to do the repairs and to assist as we already did in Chernobyl.”
The Russian capture of Zaporizhzhia renewed fears that the largest of Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors could be damaged, setting off another emergency like the 1986 Chernobyl accident, the world’s worst nuclear disaster, which happened about 110 kilometers (65 miles) north of the capital Kyiv.
Russian forces occupied the heavily contaminated site soon after the invasion but handed control back to the Ukrainians at the end of March.
Grossi visited Chernobyl on April 27 and tweeted that the level of safety was “like a `red light’ blinking.” But he said Tuesday that the IAEA set up “an assistance mission” at Chernobyl at that time “that has been very, very successful so far.”
The IAEA needs to go to Zaporizhzhia, as it did to Chernobyl, to ascertain the facts of what is actually happening there, to carry out repairs and inspections, and “to prevent a nuclear accident from happening,” Grossi said.
The IAEA chief said he and his team need protection to get to the plant and the urgent cooperation of Russia and Ukraine.
Each side wants this international mission to go from different sites, which is understandable in light of territorial integrity and political considerations, he said, but there’s something more urgent and that is getting the IAEA team to Zaporizhzhia.
“The IAEA, by its presence, will be a deterrent to any act of violence against this nuclear power plant,” Grossi said. “So I’m pleading as an international civil servant, as the head of an international organization, I’m pleading to both sides to let this mission proceed.”
Grossi was in New York to deliver a keynote speech at Monday’s opening of the long-delayed high-level meeting to review the landmark 50-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and eventually achieving a nuclear-free world.
In the interview, the IAEA chief also spoke about efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers that the Trump administration abandoned in 2018 and the Biden administration has been working to renew.
Grossi said there is “an ongoing effort to try to go for yet another meeting or round to explore possibilities to come to an agreement.” He said he heard the meeting “could be soon.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the NPT review conference on Monday that Iran “has either been unwilling or unable” to accept a deal to return to the 2015 agreement aimed at reining in its nuclear program.
Grossi said “there are important differences among the negotiating parties” and important verification issues related to past activities that Iran needs to address. “It’s not impossible, it’s complex,” he said.
If the nuclear agreement, known as the JCPOA, is not extended, he said some IAEA inspections will continue. But the JCPOA provides for additional transparency and inspections “which I deem as extremely important, very necessary, because of the breadth and depth of the nuclear program in Iran,” he said.
Grossi stressed that cooperating with the IAEA, answering its questions, allowing its inspectors to go wherever they need to be, is essential for Iran to build trust and confidence. “Promises and good words will not do,” he said.
On another issue, Grossi said last September’s deal in which the United States and Britain will provide Australia with nuclear reactors to power its submarines requires an agreement with the IAEA to ensure that the amount of nuclear material in the vessel when it leaves port is there when it returns.
He said Australia hasn’t decided what type of vessel it will be getting, so while there have been preparatory talks, substantive talks can’t begin.
Because it’s a military vessel, Grossi said, “there are lots of confidential and protection of information measures that need to be embedded into any such agreement, so it’s very complex technologically.”
Tullow Ghana, lead operator of Ghana’s Jubilee Oil Field has concluded a 10-month long Supplier Finance Readiness Programme designed to provide selected suppliers impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in the oil and gas industry in Ghana, financial and business advisory support to build financially resilient and sustainable businesses for the future.
The programme, which was implemented by Invest In Africa (IIA), a private sector-led initiative focused on growing local businesses, brought together more than one hundred and fifty (150) individual participants and over thirty-five (35) companies to undertake a rigorous training in financial modelling, business plan preparation, financial management, corporate governance, and business risk management over the programme period.
The training also gave participants, important financial toolkits to enhance their interactions with lending institutions and strengthen their capacity and preparedness to access finance.
Overall, one hundred and fifty-one (151) suppliers gained knowledge of various funding options as well as insights into financial restructuring opportunities, while thirty-six (36) businesses received one-on-one business advisory services.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony in Accra, Managing Director for Tullow Ghana, Wissam Al-Monthiry said “Tullow Ghana will continue to support local capacity development through various targeted knowledge sharing interventions to equip local companies and increase their participation in the industry while making them globally competitive”.
Wissam-Al-Monthiry, Managing-Director For Tullow Ghana Speaking At The Graduation Ceremony
Participating businesses were selected from Tullow’s supplier list and IIA’s African Partner Pool (APP) companies operating in the oil and gas industry in Ghana.
The Odumase-Krobo Circuit Court in the Eastern Region has sentenced a 42-year-old man to 12 months’ imprisonment for stealing parts of ECG transformers at Kodjonya, a suburb of Odumase-Krobo.
The convict, Isaac Azu, was said to have been spotted around an ECG transformer at Kodjonya at about 1:30 am on 31st July 2022 by a resident of the area.
Eyewitnesses raised an alarm and that attracted some other residents of the area.
The convict was given a hot chase and grabbed him in possession of some parts of the ECG transformer.
According to sources at the ECG, the residents took the suspect to the Odumase Police Station where he was detained after admitting to stealing parts of the transformer.
The police, subsequently, processed him for court where he was sentenced by His Honour Frank Gbeddy on Wednesday, 3rd August 2022.
The items he stole were identified as six fuses, earth cables and a switch all valued at Gh¢2731.38.
The transformer was off due to the blackout in the Krobo area.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Government of Ghana has lifted a ban it placed on about 61 LPG refilling stations which were at the various stages of completion.
This was contained in a statement issued by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
The lifting follows a sit down strike by petroleum tanker drivers in the Republic of Ghana in protest of the continuous ban on the stations.
The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations are looking at blocking the transportation of Russian oil among other options to deprive Moscow of bumper revenues amid its invasion of Ukraine, unless it heeds a price cap.
In a statement released by Britain, G7 foreign ministers said they were considering “a comprehensive prohibition of all services that enable transportation of Russian seaborne crude oil and petroleum products globally, unless the oil is purchased at or below a price to be agreed in consultation with international partners.”
“In considering this and other options, we will also consider mitigation mechanisms alongside our restrictive measures to ensure the most vulnerable and impacted countries maintain access to energy markets including from Russia.”
The G7 is made up of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States.
Many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, but key oil consumers China and India have stepped up imports of discounted Russian barrels to record levels.
Despite Russia’s oil exports hitting their lowest levels since last August, its export revenue in June increased by $700 million month on month due to higher prices, 40% above last year’s average, the International Energy Agency said last month.
Western leaders have proposed addressing that through an oil price cap to limit how much refiners and traders can pay for Russian crude – a move Moscow says it will not abide by and can thwart by shipping oil to states not obeying the price ceiling.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pitched the idea of the price cap to Asian leaders on a foreign tour last month and told Reuters she had held “encouraging” talks with India.
Some traders and oil market analysts have expressed doubts a price cap would work as Russia has found ways to ship its oil to Asia without the use of Western ship insurance. Moscow could also stop exports of some oil altogether, leading to a further spike in energy prices
G7 members have scrambled to find ways to plug energy shortages and tackle soaring prices while sticking to their climate commitments amid the tensions with Russia.
“As we phase out Russian energy from our domestic markets, we will seek to develop solutions that reduce Russian revenues from hydrocarbons, support stability in global energy markets, and minimise negative economic impacts”, the G7 statement said.
Source: Reuters
By: Joonatan Huhdanmäki
On the back of its recent and substantial oil and gas discoveries, Senegal is now preparing to ensure that its vast natural gas resources will help meet future electricity demand and put an end to the excessive electricity prices undermining its economy.
Senegal’s domestic gas reserves will be mainly used to produce electricity. Authorities expect that domestic gas infrastructure projects will come online between 2025 and 2026, provided there is no delay. The monetization of these significant energy resources is at the basis of the government’s new gas-to-power ambitions.
In this context, the global technology group Wärtsilä conducted in-depth studies that analyse the economic impact of the various gas-to-power strategies available to Senegal. Two very different technologies are competing to meet the country’s gas-to-power ambitions: Combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT) and Gas engines (ICE).
These studies have revealed very significant system cost differences between the two main gas-to-power technologies the country is currently considering. Contrary to prevailing beliefs, gas engines are in fact much better suited than combined cycle gas turbines to harness power from Senegal’s new gas resources cost-effectively, the study reveals. Total cost differences between the two technologies could reach as much as $480 million until 2035 depending on scenarios.
Two Competing And Very Different Technologies
The state-of-the-art energy mix models developed by Wärtsilä, which builds customised energy scenarios to identify the cost optimal way to deliver new generation capacity for a specific country, shows that ICE and CCGT technologies present significant cost differences for the gas-to-power new build program running to 2035.
Although these two technologies are equally proven and reliable, they are very different in terms of the profiles in which they can operate. CCGT is a technology that has been developed for the interconnected European electricity markets, where it can function at 90% load factor at all times. On the other hand, flexible ICE technology can operate efficiently in all operating profiles, and seamlessly adapt itself to any other generation technologies that will make up the country’s energy mix.
In particular our study reveals that when operating in an electricity network of limited size such as Senegal’s 1GW national grid, relying on CCGTs to significantly expand the network capacity would be extremely costly in all possible scenarios.
Cost differences between the technologies are explained by a number of factors. First of all, hot climates negatively impact the output of gas turbines more than it does that of gas engines.
Secondly, thanks to Senegal’s anticipated access to cheap domestic gas, the operating costs become less impactful than the investment costs. In other words, because low gas prices decrease operating costs, it is financially sound for the country to rely on ICE power plants, which are less expensive to build.
Technology Modularity Also Plays A Key Role.
Senegal is expected to require an extra 60-80 MW of generation capacity each year to be able to meet the increasing demand. This is much lower than the capacity of typical CCGTs plants which averages 300-400 MW that must be built in one go, leading to unnecessary expenditure. Engine power plants, on the other hand, are modular, which means they can be built exactly as and when the country needs them, and further extended when required.
The numbers at play are significant. The model shows that if Senegal chooses to favour CCGT plants at the expense of ICE-gas, it will lead to as much as 240 million dollars of extra cost for the system by 2035. The cost difference between the technologies can even increase to 350 million USD in favor of ICE technology if Senegal also chooses to build new renewable energy capacity within the next decade.
Risk-Managing Potential Gas Infrastructure Delays
The development of gas infrastructure is a complex and lengthy endeavour. Program delays are not uncommon, causing gas supply disruptions that will have a huge financial impact on the operation of CCGT plants.
Nigeria knows something about that. Only last year, significant gas supply issues have caused shutdowns at some of the country’s largest gas turbine power plants. Because Gas turbines operate on a continuous combustion process, they require a constant supply of gas and a stable dispatched load to generate consistent power output. If the supply is disrupted, shutdowns occur, putting a great strain on the overall system. ICE-Gas plants on the other hand, are designed to adjust their operational profile over time and increase system flexibility. Because of their flexible operating profile, they were able to maintain a much higher level of availability
The study took a deep dive to analyse the financial impact of 2 years delay in the gas infrastructure program. It demonstrates that if the country decides to invest into gas engines, the cost of gas delay would be 550 million dollars, whereas a system dominated by CCGTs would lead to a staggering 770 million dollars in extra cost.
Whichever way you look at it, new ICE-Gas generation capacity will minimize the total cost of electricity in Senegal in all possible scenarios. If Senegal is to meet electricity demand growth in a cost-optimal way, at least 300 MW of new ICE-Gas capacity will be required by 2026.
The Writer is a Senior Analyst for Energy, Wärtsilä
Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has hinted that Cabinet is likely to lift the ban placed on some 61 LPG projects which were under various stages of construction and or completion this week to their owners.
According to the Minister, the Energy Ministry sent a Memo on 29th July, 2022 to Cabinet for consideration on those projects, adding that the Cabinet is meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss several issues.
He said he was hopeful there would be good news after the cabinet meeting tomorrow.
“I’m sure government will take a second look at the issue. What NPA has proposed to the government is that the 61 LPG stations should be used as cylinder exchange points for the LPG Cylinder Recirculation Model Programme. This is good and I’m sure when Cabinet meets tomorrow, they will decide on it,” Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh said while addressing some issues in the energy sector on Accra-based Asempa FM.
The Minister’s assurances come on the back of a sit-down strike by the Ghana Tanker Drivers Union on Monday.
The tanker drivers claim that the continuous ban on the 61 LPG projects was affecting the investments of the operators.
They further claim that their employers were failing to increase their salaries because they have invested heavily in those projects, thereby, limiting their cash flow.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) retail outlets in the country have been shut down by operators following a sit-down strike by gas tanker drivers in the West African nation.
When the energynewsafrica.com team visited some of the LPG outlets in Tema, in the Greater Accra Region, the stations were closed with ‘No Gas’ signage placed at the entrance to notify their customers.
“We are just pleading with them that whatever their problem is, they should resolve it so that they can start producing, so we can get some (LPG) to do our household chores,” one of the consumers said.
“I use gas for my business. Without it, it would be hard. I have to resort to charcoal until they resume work,” another complained.
Addressing a press conference in Tema on Monday, Chairman of the Ghana Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union, George T. Nyaunu, raised concerns about the ban on the LPG projects under various stages of construction and sanctions against transporters by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) over claims that tanker drivers have been tampering with their cargo tracking seal.
He noted that the ban is affecting the investments by the LPG operators.
“Most of them had borrowed to invest in the construction of these stations before 2017. These investments by indigenous Ghanaian investors amount to not less than $10 million or approximately GH¢85 million. But with the imposition of the ban, these investments have been abandoned and are wasting away at various sites across the country for the past five years.
“Most of these investments were done with loans contracted from banks in the country. This has put these investors under undue pressure from the banks to repay the loans at very high-interest rates, to the extent that some of our employers are being pursued through the courts and their assets being confiscated to defray these loans,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, reacting to the issues, called on the government to resolve the issues as soon as possible to avert LPG shortages.
“The ban, we understand, has led to about 11% reduction in volumes for the operators over the past one year instead of a projected 15% increase year on year.
“We are currently inundated with calls from obviously stranded consumers who depend on these outlets seeking answers which we don’t have,” the statement pointed out.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Major Oil Marketing Companies in the Republic of Ghana have reduced the prices of fuel at the pump following a drop in crude oil prices.
As of Monday morning, leading oil marketing companies namely GOIL, Shell and TotalEnergies have all adjusted their prices downward.
GOIL reduced its pump price for diesel from Gh¢13.63 per litre to Gh¢13.26, representing 37 pesewas while Super (petrol) price witnessed a reduction of 35 pesewas from Gh¢11:30 per litre to Gh¢10:95 per litre.
Shell and TotalEnergies also reduced their pump prices by over 30 pesewas.
A litre of petrol and diesel are now sold at Gh¢10.95 and Gh¢13.30 respectively at the retail outlets of both shell and TotalEnergies.
Likely, some of the smaller OMCs will also adjust their pump prices by a small margin since they have always been selling below the prices sold by the major players.
As of 12:45 GMT on Tuesday, WTI was trading at $94.54 per barrel while benchmark crude Brent was trading at $100.5.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
A Ghanaian court responsible for the prosecution of those engaged in power theft will start prosecuting hundreds of ECG customers who tamper with their meters and consume power illegally.
This was disclosed by the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Mahama.
“The power court, which is also called the utility court, is ready and will start active prosecution of cases,” Mr Mahama said.
The power distribution company will, from Monday, also commence meter auditing after giving customers more than a one-month moratorium to report any fault to ECG.
Speaking at a press briefing last week, the Managing Director of ECG, Samuel Mahama said the company would deploy a team of task force and police personnel to homes to audit all meters and ensure all faulty, tampered meters and illegal connections are fished out of the system.
Thus, he warned that anyone caught during the process would be prosecuted by the utility court for stealing.
“Anybody and I repeat, anybody caught stealing power will be charged with stealing and will be made to pay a hefty fine or a prison sentence,” he warned.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, NPA, continues to strengthen its ties with the Zambian counterpart, Energy Regulatory Board (ERB).
Officials of the two regulatory bodies have been visiting each other to understudy to improve their regulatory mandate.
As part of an effort to strengthen the bond, the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, embarked on a working visit to the Zambian Energy Regulatory Board (ERB).
Dr Abdul-Hamid, accompanied by Ghana’s High Commissioner in Zambia, Her Excellency Iddrisu Khadija, together with some NPA board and management members, visited the ERB head office in Lusaka.
The tour is premised on major successes achieved by the fuel marking programme in both countries and shared lessons on the implementation of the fuel marking programme with the view of improving current operations.
Briefing the media on what necessitated the visit, the NPA boss said before the Zambian regulatory body began its implementation of the fuel marking programme in 2017, they sent a seven-member team to understudy Ghana’s model of the petroleum product marking scheme in 2015.
He said the Zambian team was taken through the programme set-up, staffing, contractor & subcontractor payments, margins, benefits, challenges and legislation, among others.
Dr Abdul-Hamid said ERB sent another two-group delegation in 2018 comprising key fuel marking operational staff, senior management and board to interact with NPA to gain further insights on the rollout and implementation of both the marking and monitoring activities of the Ghana fuel marking programme.
Dr Abdul-Hamid was elated to know that since the successful launch and rollout of the fuel marking in Zambia, the programme has chalked major success.
He mentioned product quality compliance rate at the retail outlet has increased to over 96 per cent and illegal fuel vendors have been successfully prosecuted and convicted.
Despite Ghana’s major successes in the fuel marking programme, the NPA Chief Executive said: “We still want to learn from the Zambian programme to help us improve on our operations in the field of fuel marking and regulation, as well as foster a healthy collaboration in the area of fuel integrity monitoring between our institutions.”
The ERB is a statutory body charged with the responsibility of regulating the energy sector in Zambia. The ERB is generally responsible for ensuring that energy enterprises earn a reasonable rate of return on their investments and that consumers are given quality products and services.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
An extract of a proposal by Mytilineos SA above
The Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Operations and Management (O&M) contract to Mytilineos SA, as communicated to Parliament by Dr Matthew Prempeh were sole-sourced to Mytilineos SA, with the justification that the company has been the operator of the plant since inception and is, therefore, the best suited to deliver the contract, but Kodzo Yaotse and ACEP argued that, firstly, long-service is not part of the exceptional cases per the Private Public Agreement (PPA) Act to warrant sole-sourcing.
“Furthermore, Mytilineos SA is not the only company with the capacity to relocate trailer-loaded aero-derivative turbines. There are local companies that can deliver the EPC for Ghana,” he challenged the sector Minister.
Recalling a similar significant over-pricing contract in the inept novation agreement in 2018 when the same Mytilineos SA attempted to take over the Ameri contract, ACEP expressed shock at how the same Mytilineos SA had survived the botched novation to reappear with another cost-dynamic sole-sourced contract.
Given this, ACEP demanded that Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh provides Ghanaians with convincing answers.
Responding to some issues raised by ACEP while speaking on Accra- based Peace FM, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Energy Minister, is quoted to have said: “ACEP is only against the Ameri plant relocation because it is going to Kumasi,” connoting tribal hate of ACEP for the people of Kumasi.
But a statement from the think tank rejected the Minister’s assertion, saying: “ACEP is not against the location of a power plant in any part of Ghana. We analyze the decisions of the Energy Ministry based on their strategic or proprietary fit at a particular time. In our statement, we were emphatic that there may be a need for power generation in the middle belt in the medium to long term. However, with the cash-strapped power sector managed by the same Minister, the most optimal decisions must be prioritized. The power sector’s financial situation is worsening every year and requires decisions that, at the barest minimum, reduce the burden and not add on. In 2020 and 2021, the government shouldered total under-recoveries from the sector to over GHS 14 billion (GHS 6.8 billion in 2020, and the cedi equivalent of $1.257 billion in 2021).
“In addition, the sector’s outstanding payments for gas and IPPs are more than $1.2 billion (GHS9.6 billion) for the first half of 2022.”
The Minister is also said to have alleged that the think tank sent its press statement to the opposition party NDC.
According to the think tank, “This is completely false. The Minister cannot provide any evidence to back this claim. Our statement was first read at about 10:15 am and broadcasted on Zoom and Facebook in the presence of the media. Any evidence or trace before this time would confirm what the Minister is claiming. It is important to note that our statements are public documents available to the government and the opposition.”
Additionally, the Energy Minister is also said to have claimed that “VRA is leading the negotiations and not the Ministry of Energy.”
But ACEP, according to all the available evidence showed that the Ministry, at all times, has been Ghana’s negotiating party.
“The proposal from Mytilineos SA for $25.48 million was submitted to the Ministry. The Ministry did the negotiations, applied for PPA approval for $71.6 million ($35.6 million for the relocation and $36 million for the operations and maintenance) and sought the legal opinion of the Attorney General’s office for the contract. It was after these that the VRA Senior Staff Association wrote to protest the negotiations are done by the Ministry.”
Metka_Proposal for Relocation (1)
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
Shell and TotalEnergies also reduced their pump prices by over 30 pesewas.
A litre of petrol and diesel are now sold at Gh¢10.95 and Gh¢13.30 respectively at the retail outlets of both shell and TotalEnergies.
Likely, some of the smaller OMCs will also adjust their pump prices by a small margin since they have always been selling below the prices sold by the major players.
As of 12:45 GMT on Tuesday, WTI was trading at $94.54 per barrel while benchmark crude Brent was trading at $100.5.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
Dr Abdul-Hamid was elated to know that since the successful launch and rollout of the fuel marking in Zambia, the programme has chalked major success.
He mentioned product quality compliance rate at the retail outlet has increased to over 96 per cent and illegal fuel vendors have been successfully prosecuted and convicted.
Despite Ghana’s major successes in the fuel marking programme, the NPA Chief Executive said: “We still want to learn from the Zambian programme to help us improve on our operations in the field of fuel marking and regulation, as well as foster a healthy collaboration in the area of fuel integrity monitoring between our institutions.”
The ERB is a statutory body charged with the responsibility of regulating the energy sector in Zambia. The ERB is generally responsible for ensuring that energy enterprises earn a reasonable rate of return on their investments and that consumers are given quality products and services.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com