The Management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has celebrated its esteemed customers and Nigerians with a peaceful and joyful Eid-Fitr.
The Company, in a goodwill message signed by the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Engr John Ayodele, congratulated Muslims for the successful completion of the Holy Month of Ramadan, which marks the end of the fasting period.
Engr Ayodele, while reflecting on the lessons of Ramadan such as empathy, unity and mutual respect, said the fasting may have ended but it is important to sustain the virtues, ideals and values beyond the month of Ramadan, considering the benefits to individuals and the country at large.
He explained that IBEDC has put stringent measures in place to ensure good service delivery during the holidays.
“We are aware that our customers are looking forward to enjoying power supply during the holidays, so our technical crew are available to rectify any faults that may arise during this period, and our customer care line 0700123999 will remain active to respond to complaints and reports promptly.
The COO also admonished consumers not to engage quacks to fix faults on any electrical installations and appliances around them.
“It is illegal and dangerous for anyone to trade, live or work near electricity installations or even tamper with them. Motorists are also advised to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol and observe traffic rules to prevent collision with electrical poles and other accidents,’’ he said.
Engr Ayodele further encouraged customers to take advantage of the company’s hassle-free channels of payment to pay bills and vend such as Quick teller, Payarena, Jumia, Watu, Buypower and ATM to avoid disconnection during the holiday period.
“Our offices will also remain open during the public holidays from 9 am-3 pm; you can also email us at [email protected],” he added.
Ghana’s energy sector state-owned institutions recorded cumulative losses of about Gh¢ 9.1 billion between 2018 and 2020.
These losses were recorded by eight energy sector agencies namely Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Bulk Oil Storage and Transporation Company (BOST), Volta River Authority (VRA), Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The agencies recorded losses of GH¢3.7 billion in 2018, GH¢2.9 billion in 2019 and GH¢2.5 billion in 2020.
Except Bui Power Authority (BPA) and Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) which recorded profits in 2018, 2019 and 2020, Volta River Authority recorded a profit of Gh¢156.5 million in 2020, while GNPC booked a profit of Gh¢539.2 and Gh¢204.35 in 2018 and 2019.
Bui Power Authority recorded profits of Gh¢238.1million, Gh¢209.7 million and Gh¢314.1 in 2018,2019 and 2020 while Ghana National Gas Company booked profits of Gh¢183.04 million, Gh¢81.58 million and Gh¢217.46 in the same period.
The figures were contained in the State Ownership Report (SOR)
titled ‘The state of the energy and extractive sectors of Ghana’ prepared by State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA).
Commenting on the State Ownership Report at a press conference in Accra, Executive Director of the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, said the report has revealed how bad it is for government to continue to conduct business, particularly in areas where it is supposed to regulate.
He said the power sector remains unsustainable and a major threat to economic growth; noting that urgent steps are required to stop the debt accumulation and ensure the settlement of existing debt more sustainably.
In 2020 and 2021 alone, Mr Boakye said the government’s settlement for the energy sector under-recoveries was more than GH¢14 billion – GH¢6.8 billion in 2020 and GH¢7.2 billion in 2021, a situation that he stressed must not be allowed to continue.
The inability to control under-recoveries, he explained, also undermines the objective of the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA)–a special purpose vehicle that issues long-term bonds to resolve the sector’s indebtedness.
“Currently, levies paid under ESLA barely settle coupon payments, transaction and administrative costs. Outstanding bonds to be settled at maturity amounts to GH¢8.7 billion,” he added.
According to him, there is an urgent need to restructure the energy sector institutions.
“Agencies that can be efficiently managed by the private sector and regulated by the state do not need to exist as government agencies are susceptible to political interference and the generation of unwarranted losses, he said.
“Addressing the challenges could free resources for development and realign government priorities toward growth. It remains injurious for billions of debts to be created in the energy sector, whose value exceeds direct investment in infrastructure. For example, the US$1.2 billion spent to pay for under-recoveries in 2021 in the power sector alone could have been useful for building roads and other critical infrastructure,” he recommended.
He further said management and functions of the state’s energy sector institutions require urgent review to reduce the government’s exposure to losses.
“The State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) must accelerate its review of the SOE’s performance and determine which of them require divestiture, particularly those competing with the private sector in areas where regulation can achieve the same result.
“SIGA must immediately reform appointment, recruitment and other corporate governance practices to comply with acceptable corporate standards,” it further stated.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
The founder and Chief Executive Officer of TSAVO Oilfield Services, a leading Kenyan energy consultancy company, Mrs. Elizabeth Rogo, has been appointed board member of the National Oil Corporation of Kenya.
Mrs. Rogo has vast experience within the upstream, middle stream and downstream segments of the energy industry.
She is an engineer by profession with over 21 years of experience in the energy industry.
Commenting on her appointment, Executive Chairman of African Energy Chamber, NJ Ayuk said Rogo’s experience is critical in boosting oil and gas exploration, production and exploitation to help Kenya address energy poverty and accelerate economic growth.
Kenya’s over four billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves and a largely underdeveloped natural gas sector would be vital to improving energy access in the country.
The appointment of Rogo as a board member of the National Oil Corporation is a game-changer in that direction.
With fossil fuels accounting for 32.5 per cent of Kenya’s energy mix, Rogo’s experience in oil and gas production would help shape the country’s direction in optimising oil production to meet domestic energy needs.
Despite having massive oil reserves, Kenya is a net oil and fuel importer and spends large amounts of money on the importation, a development that is straining the country’s economy.
In addition, with recent geopolitics development such as the Russian-Ukraine war increasing the global prices for crude oil, the vulnerability of Kenya’s economy to global price volatility has further intensified, highlighting the need for Kenya to up its game in exploiting domestic energy resources “and forces like Rogo are vital in enabling Kenya to achieve this.”
Moreover, with a lack of adequate investments having restrained the growth of Kenya’s hydrocarbons segment over the past years, Rogo’s experience in growing strong strategic partnerships with TSAVO Oilfield Services and as a Business Development Manager with Weatherford would be critical in helping the National Oil Corporation of Kenya to attract foreign direct investments to enhance midstream and downstream infrastructure development.
In addition, with Kenya seeking to optimise the monetisation of its oil resources to drive GDP growth, which the World Bank anticipates would expand by five per cent in 2022, Rogo’s sales and marketing experience with Baker Hughes would help the National Oil Corporation to optimise the marketing of petroleum products.
“The AEC applauds the Kenyan government for its continued efforts in ensuring gender diversity within the energy sector. We believe forces like Elizabeth Rogo will help this NOC become a world-class corporation that meets our energy needs of the future but also remain instrumental in ensuring energy poverty is addressed in Kenya and across the African continent by 2030 through the exploitation of domestic resources,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of AEC said, adding that “The AEC is also confident that Kenya’s energy sector is headed for success with the appointment of a strong fighter and role model like Rogo.
“Stakeholders like Rogo will be influential in helping Africa to develop its narrative of what a just and inclusive energy transition looks like. This is what we will also be discussing at the upcoming African Energy Week.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has released $180 million to Rwanda to finance rural electrification projects mainly in the south of the country.
Of the $180 million, $140 million represents a loan from the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) sovereign window while the other $40 million is from the Growing Together in Africa Fund, a $2 billion facility funded by the People’s Bank of China (PBC) and administered by the AfDB.
The funding is for the implementation of the Transmission System Strengthening and Last Mile Connection Project (TSRLMC).
This project aims to increase access to electricity in rural areas of Rwanda, and it is part of the Rwanda Universal Electricity Access Program (RUEAP) which will be implemented in 2024.
Under the TSRLMC, the Rwandan government plans to build more than 1,000km of medium voltage lines and 3,300 km of low voltage lines to facilitate access to electricity down to the last mile.
It will also build 137km of high voltage lines and six substations to reinforce the network.
The project will also install or upgrade over 1,200 distribution transformers and related infrastructure.
According to the Rwandan government’s projections, the TSRLMC will provide access to electricity to 77,470 households.
The project will also benefit 75 schools, eight health centres and 65 administrative centres while providing 125MW of clean electricity from hydroelectric plants.
The construction and management of the future infrastructures are expected to create 455 permanent jobs and 760 part-time jobs, 30 per cent of which will be for women.
“This project will improve the quality of life of the population by facilitating better access to education and health. It will also stimulate private sector growth, thus contributing to Rwanda’s social and economic transformation programme, which aims to transform it from a developing country to a middle-income country by 2035,” Aissa Touré-Sarr, AfDB Group Country Director for Rwanda, said.
According to the pan-African financial institution based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, the recently allocated additional funding will support works in southern Rwanda, mainly in the localities of Gisagara, Huye, Nyamagabe, Nyanza, Nyaruguru and Ruhango.
The project will also increase access to the grid in the towns of Nyarugege, Nyamata, and Kigali Hub “as well as in other localities in the country where increasing commercial activity has increased the electricity demand,” the AfDB says.
The TSRLMC has already secured $84.2 million in financing from the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional lending window of the AfDB Group, in 2021.
Rwanda currently has an electricity access rate of 49 per cent, according to Power Africa.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has announced the inauguration of regional electricity interconnection between Mozambique and Malawi.
According to him, the two countries will become relevant actors in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Nyusi expressed this conviction in Matombo, in the western province of Tete, together with his Malawian counterpart Lazarus Chakwera.
He laid the first stone for constructing a 400 kilovolt (kV) transmission line through which Mozambique will supply Malawi with 50 megawatts of power.
The transmission line is budgeted at USD 62 million.
A second component of the project is the expansion of the Matambo sub-station, budgeted at USD 21 million, to guarantee the reliability of the power supply.
“In this way, we are strengthening the solid image of an economic bloc with more than 300 million consumers”, Nyusi said.
“These undertakings will benefit the development and the interests of our peoples”.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Leading oil marketing companies in the Republic of Ghana have adjusted the price of diesel at their various fuel outlets.
GOIL, the market leader, adjusted the price of diesel from Gh¢10.20 per litre to Gh¢10.65 per litre.
TotalEnergies and Shell also adjusted their diesel prices to Gh¢10.90 and Gh¢10.79 per litre respectively.
Also Puma energy has adjusted its diesel price toGh¢10.90.
The upward review of diesel prices is in response to the rising cost of the commodity on the global market.
Diesel price has been soaring as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As of 29th April 2022, the price of diesel was sold at US$1,207 per metric tonne.
It was sold at US$1,202.13 previously.
Meanwhile, the petrol price remains the same at Gh¢ 9.35 pesewas per litre.
Fuel prices are expected to go up in the next pricing window beginning May 1,2022.
The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) has commissioned an $11 million Primary Substation to provide stable, reliable and quality power supply to the University of Ghana Medical Centre in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
The University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) is a 1000-bed capacity hospital. This means that the hospital will require adequate electricity to run efficiently.
The substation was funded through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a United States agency.
The project is one of the many electric infrastructural assets which form part of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Financial and Operational Turnaround project of the Ghana Power Compact II.
The substation has a capacity of 52 megavolts amperes and can supply all present and future power needs of the University of Ghana Medical Centre and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
It would also serve as an alternative source of power supply to other institutions and surrounding communities.
Commissioning the project, Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Energy, Dr. Mohammad Amin Adam, noted that the substation would help to reduce technical losses in the ECG’s distribution system and reduce power outages in the catchment area.
“There is indeed a lot to celebrate with the coming on stream of this project and the local community can now heave a huge sigh of relief,” he said.
He said besides the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point, works have also been completed on the Kasoa Bulk Supply Point which is a 435 MWA capacity gas Insulated switchgear substation.
He said the project has been energised and is in operation, awaiting formal inauguration next month.
Further to this, he said works on the national transmission backbone from the coast to Bolgatanga which had a gap between Kumasi and Kintampo have been completed.
Dr. Amin added that the Tema-Accra transmission line is also being upgraded to increase its capacity from 161KV to 330 KV.
Dr. Amin said Ghana is working hard to increase the contribution of renewable energy and in particular attain a minimum of 10 per cent contribution from renewable energy in the generation mix by 2030.
He commended Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for making funds available to MiDA for projects executed under the Ghana Power Compact II.
Board Chairperson of MiDA, Prof Ntiamoah-Baidu, called on the university authorities and Electricity Company of Ghana to preserve and sustain the facility as well as the power grid the substation depends on, to achieve the lasting results outlined.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
A former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Dr. Amos Ofori Quaah, has officially launched a book which chronicles his role and steps Ghana’s national oil company took leading to the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in 2007.
Dr. Ofori Quaah, a Geophysicist graduate from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), started work with GNPC in 1985 and rose through the ranks to become the CEO of the corporation between 2001 and 2002.
Having been part of the formative group of the GNPC, Dr Ofori Quaah set out to debunk those false theories and detail the technical work and sacrifices that went into making Ghana’s oil find a reality.
The 358-page non-fiction literature recounts Dr. Quaah’s early industry experience at Phillips Petroleum Company in London, the advantage of going through several departments which gave him a solid grounding in geophysical data acquisition and processing, quality control and interpretation, as well as geology.
Mr. Edward Brafo, raising a copy of the book
These strengths would prove so crucial later as he supervised and or processed every seismic survey the corporation embarked on in seventeen years.
In those seventeen years, Dr. Ofori Quaah mapped every basin in Ghana and recounts the very interesting experience of making the first-ever seismic map made in Ghana, by “borrowing” lead and coloured pencils, and erasers from the stocks of his three-year-old son because such basic supplies, especially of good quality pencils, were difficult to find in Ghana when he returned in late 1984.
These cool real flashbacks, among others, in the book give it a highly humane and relatable feel one does not need to be an industry expert for their mind’s eye to welcome and embrace the book.
The book touches on an extensive mapping project he did on the Cape Three Points sub-basin of Ghana’s Western Region in 1992. This turns out to be the major turning point of the whole offshore Ghana exploration effort.
Fifteen years later, an American company drilled the first commercial oil discovery in the same area and within the same geological system, he had predicted in 1992.
He includes in the book a scanned copy of parts of the project report he had written on the project, which rekindles the controversy a few years ago, about the Cape Three Points discoveries.
Dr. Quaah revealed that he and other principal characters involved in the exploration programme in the early days of GNPC never benefited from the oil largesse.
Also, several young children missed the presence and love of their fathers very early in their lives because their fathers had to travel on official assignments away from home in Ghana or overseas in dedication to this project.
“For the sake of those children and their mothers, those unsung heroes and heroines, something had to be written down for posterity, and this book tries to honour the hard work of such individuals.” Thus, he said, is one of the reasons he wrote the book.
Titled: ‘My Footprints In Ghana’s Black Gold’, the launch attracted petroleum sector players.
In attendance at the book launch were high-profile dignitaries such as Kwame Pianim, a renowned economist and politician; Prof. Ivan Addae-Mensah, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana; Dr. Tony Oteng Gyasi, Board Chairman of Ghana Revenue Authority and CEO of Tropical Cables & Conductors Ltd;Lawrence Apaalse, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Energy Lawrence; Mr. Thomas Manu, a former Deputy CEO of GNPC; Theophilus Ahwireng, Managing Director of MODEC Production Services Ghana (MPSG) JV Ltd; and several former staff of GNPC among others.
The Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Tony Oteng Gyasi, a Board Chairman of Ghana Revenue Authority and Founder of Tropical Cables & Conductors, described the book as a captivating memoir of Dr. Amos Ofori Quaah’s role in Ghana’s oil industry.
Dr. Tony Oteng Gyasi
According to him, it is an inspirational book for the younger generation who wants to know the history of Ghana’s oil discovery.
He, therefore, called on players in the oil and gas industry to grab copies to read to broaden their scope of knowledge in the industry.
Copies of the book can be found on Amazon, EPP books, Kingdom books and stationery and Baatsona Total.
Theophilus Ahwireng, Managing Director of MODEC Production Services Ghana JV Ltd (MPSG)Mr Lawrence Apaalse, former Chief Director at the Ministry of Energy
A tanker fully loaded with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has overturned on the Accra-Tema motorway, one of the busiest roads in the Republic of Ghana, posing danger to motorists.
The tanker with registration number GN 4513-21 went for the load from Half Assini in the Western Region and was heading to Tema when it overturned on the section of the motorway close to the Adjiringanor police station along the motorway.
When energynewsafrica.com got to the scene, personnel from the Motorway Fire Service were at the spot to ensure the area was safe for motorists.
Fire service personnel at the scene and some members of the Gas Tanker Drivers Union were seen supervising the discharging of the gas into an empty gas tanker.
Narrating how the accident happened to energynewsafrica.com, the driver of the gas tanker, who gave his name as Kobby, said on reaching a section of the motorway where the tanker overturned at about midnight, there was another truck moving in the other lane and kept veering off into his lane.
He said his continuous tooting the horn of his truck to alert the other driver of the seeming danger he was causing yielded no effort.
At that point, he said he realised that the driver could be napping behind the steering wheel and, therefore, applied the brakes but the truck overturned as a result of the slippery nature of the road in the raining night.
The spokesman for the Fire Service Personnel at the scene, Samuel Nartey, said they received a call at about 1 am and on reaching the scene, where they observed that the tanker was fully loaded with the flammable material, they quickly detected for leakage to block it to avert any possible explosion.
The incident has created a terrible traffic situation on the Accra-Tema section of the Motorway.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
German activists have allegedly succeeded in halting the flow of crude oil through pipelines at five separate locations in protest against the country’s foot-dragging on a ban on Russian oil.
A group calling itself “The Uprising of the Last Generation” claims to have breached the pipelines at emergency stations on Wednesday where climate activists activated shut-off valves and then chained themselves to the valves.
According to Reuters, the five valve locations were in Berlin, Munich, Leipzig, Greifswald and Koblenz.
The group said that “crude oil pipelines had been turned off all over Germany and the flow of oil had been interrupted”.
Members of the group filmed the shut-offs, posting video and photographs on Twitter and Instagram.
According to Germany’s, Tichy’s Einblick daily it was unclear at the time of writing if crude oil flows along this pipeline had effectively been halted.
Activists are demanding that the government of Olaf Scholz work faster to find ways to reduce Germany’s dependence on Russian energy sources.
“We are in a climate emergency! The German government not only ignores it, it plans to fuel it further. To now want to drill for oil in our North Sea – this is madness that you must stop, Mr. Habeck!” activist Edmund Schulz said in statement.
Germany, the European Union’s largest economy, has waffled on Russian oil and gas, with unions and industry leaders warning that an “immediate” Russian natural gas ban would be disastrous to the economy.
Germany has already cut Russian oil imports by over 20%, with officials now spreading optimism that it could be only a matter of days before the country is capable of a total embargo on Russian oil.
On Tuesday, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck declared that Germany had reduced Russian oil imports to around 12% from 35% prior to the invasion of Ukraine, and that a full ban on Russian oil would be “manageable” soon–potentially in a matter of days.
Source: Oilprice.com
The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) has completed an $11 million Primary Substation and its associated interconnecting circuits for the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
The project is expected to be commissioned and officially handed over to the authorities of the university on Wednesday, April 27,2022. It was funded through the Millennium Challenge Corporation MCC, a United States agency.
The project is one of the many electric infrastructural assets, which form part of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Financial and Operational Turnaround project of the Ghana Power Compact II.
The substation has a capacity of 52 megavolts amperes and can supply all present and future power needs of the University of Ghana Medical Centre and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
It would also serve as an alternative source of power supply to other institutions and surrounding communities.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria has held a mass burial for over 50 people who were part of 109 people who perished in an explosion last Friday.
The explosion occurred at an illegal refinery in a forest in the Abaezi community of the Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area in Imo State.
The dead were buried in three graves dug at the site of the explosion.
Local reporters who covered the burial event reported that Marcel Amadioha, who is the Interim Management Committee chairman of Ohaji-Egbema LGA, explained that they conducted the mass burial because many victims were unable to be identified by their family members.
“We have the instruction of the governor of Imo state, Senator Hope Uzodimma, to conduct a mass burial for the victims of the explosion. This is the least we can do for them because they were burnt beyond recognition. You can see there are no relatives of the victims who are here. This is because the victims were unidentifiable. This is the least we could do to avoid their bodies from decaying further,” he said.
“I believe this will serve as a deterrent to others. We are clamping down on all illegal refineries in this area. We can’t allow this economic sabotage to continue. We deserve better than this. The governor has shown enough compassion by providing us with enough logistics to carry out this mass burial.”
Ben Marcos, the area youth leader, revealed that the community is currently carrying out a sensitisation programme to educate the youth about the dangers of oil bunkering.
According to reports, traditional authorities performed libation to appease the gods to avert similar incidents in the future.
Environmental health officials of Ohaji-Egbema LGA carried out a fumigation exercise to forestall disease outbreaks in the area.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Eleven people including two children have died in India after being electrocuted as their truck, decorated as a temple chariot, touched an overhead power transmission wire during a Hindu festival procession in the southern part of the Asian country.
According to a report by Aljazeera, citing local media reports, at least 15 people were injured in the incident.
The deaths occurred early on Wednesday when the temple chariot procession was underway in Tamil Nadu state’s Thanjavur district, 340km (210 miles) south of the state capital Chennai, police said.
The NDTV news channel said the truck, crowded with devotees, also caught fire by the electric spark.
The procession was organised by a local Hindu temple.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “deeply pained by the mishap.
“My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. I hope that the injured recover soon,” his office posted on Twitter.
Tamil Nadu state’s Chief Minister M.K Stalin also expressed his condolences and announced a compensation of 500,000 rupees ($6,524) each to the families of those who were killed in the incident.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Four children have perished after they were electrocuted in the Ile Oluji /Okeigbo Local Government Area of the Ondo State in South-West Nigeria.
The children died when an electric cable fell on the metal container shop they were staying inside, according to a report filed by powerupng.com citing Gatekeepers News.
The incident reportedly occurred last Monday.
“Yes, we can confirm the death of the four kids. An electric cable fell while they were inside a container. We have commenced investigation into the matter,” the Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami, said.
According to the report, two of the four victims were siblings who visited their aunt for the Easter holiday in the community.
The victims and other children were reportedly playing in the container when the incident happened.
Reacting to the incident, the senator representing Ondo South, Nicholas Tofowomo, said he would ensure the parents of the victims get justice if the Benin Electricity Distribution Company was found culpable of the matter.
He warned the residents of the community against erecting buildings or shops under high tension cables or any power supply line.
“We cannot allow lawlessness to continue in this country. I will pursue justice for the parents if investigations showed culpability of the BEDC.
“Moreover, the government must do its job by not allowing shops or buildings to be erected under power lines. The lives of these precious children would not have been wasted if individuals do their jobs accordingly.”
Reacting to the tragic news, the Corporate Affairs Manager of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Ondo State, Michael Barnabas, said the incident was fatal because the metal container shop was under the high tension electric cable.
“Sadly, we received information about the electrocution of four little children within our network in Ile-Oluji due to an 11kv line that snapped. As a company, we console the families of the children because life is very sacred and should not end prematurely in this way.
“The deaths would have been avoidable if there were nothing within the 11meters right of way statutorily required for such line.
“While we don’t have the powers to relocate people directly living or trading under our electricity lines, we shall be very brutal in disconnecting such customers from the public power supply and ensure they never have access to it again which would probably lead to them relocating voluntarily out of the harm’s way. By this, we believe we can prevent future occurrence of similar sad incidents in future,” he concluded.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Bui Power Authority recorded profits of Gh¢238.1million, Gh¢209.7 million and Gh¢314.1 in 2018,2019 and 2020 while Ghana National Gas Company booked profits of Gh¢183.04 million, Gh¢81.58 million and Gh¢217.46 in the same period.
The figures were contained in the State Ownership Report (SOR)
titled ‘The state of the energy and extractive sectors of Ghana’ prepared by State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA).
Commenting on the State Ownership Report at a press conference in Accra, Executive Director of the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, said the report has revealed how bad it is for government to continue to conduct business, particularly in areas where it is supposed to regulate.
He said the power sector remains unsustainable and a major threat to economic growth; noting that urgent steps are required to stop the debt accumulation and ensure the settlement of existing debt more sustainably.
In 2020 and 2021 alone, Mr Boakye said the government’s settlement for the energy sector under-recoveries was more than GH¢14 billion – GH¢6.8 billion in 2020 and GH¢7.2 billion in 2021, a situation that he stressed must not be allowed to continue.
The inability to control under-recoveries, he explained, also undermines the objective of the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA)–a special purpose vehicle that issues long-term bonds to resolve the sector’s indebtedness.
“Currently, levies paid under ESLA barely settle coupon payments, transaction and administrative costs. Outstanding bonds to be settled at maturity amounts to GH¢8.7 billion,” he added.
According to him, there is an urgent need to restructure the energy sector institutions.
“Agencies that can be efficiently managed by the private sector and regulated by the state do not need to exist as government agencies are susceptible to political interference and the generation of unwarranted losses, he said.
“Addressing the challenges could free resources for development and realign government priorities toward growth. It remains injurious for billions of debts to be created in the energy sector, whose value exceeds direct investment in infrastructure. For example, the US$1.2 billion spent to pay for under-recoveries in 2021 in the power sector alone could have been useful for building roads and other critical infrastructure,” he recommended.
He further said management and functions of the state’s energy sector institutions require urgent review to reduce the government’s exposure to losses.
“The State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) must accelerate its review of the SOE’s performance and determine which of them require divestiture, particularly those competing with the private sector in areas where regulation can achieve the same result.
“SIGA must immediately reform appointment, recruitment and other corporate governance practices to comply with acceptable corporate standards,” it further stated.
Source: energynewsafrica.com 
It would also serve as an alternative source of power supply to other institutions and surrounding communities.
Commissioning the project, Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Energy, Dr. Mohammad Amin Adam, noted that the substation would help to reduce technical losses in the ECG’s distribution system and reduce power outages in the catchment area.
“There is indeed a lot to celebrate with the coming on stream of this project and the local community can now heave a huge sigh of relief,” he said.
He said besides the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point, works have also been completed on the Kasoa Bulk Supply Point which is a 435 MWA capacity gas Insulated switchgear substation.
He said the project has been energised and is in operation, awaiting formal inauguration next month.
Further to this, he said works on the national transmission backbone from the coast to Bolgatanga which had a gap between Kumasi and Kintampo have been completed.
Dr. Amin added that the Tema-Accra transmission line is also being upgraded to increase its capacity from 161KV to 330 KV.
Dr. Amin said Ghana is working hard to increase the contribution of renewable energy and in particular attain a minimum of 10 per cent contribution from renewable energy in the generation mix by 2030.
He commended Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for making funds available to MiDA for projects executed under the Ghana Power Compact II.
Board Chairperson of MiDA, Prof Ntiamoah-Baidu, called on the university authorities and Electricity Company of Ghana to preserve and sustain the facility as well as the power grid the substation depends on, to achieve the lasting results outlined.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
These cool real flashbacks, among others, in the book give it a highly humane and relatable feel one does not need to be an industry expert for their mind’s eye to welcome and embrace the book.
The book touches on an extensive mapping project he did on the Cape Three Points sub-basin of Ghana’s Western Region in 1992. This turns out to be the major turning point of the whole offshore Ghana exploration effort.
Fifteen years later, an American company drilled the first commercial oil discovery in the same area and within the same geological system, he had predicted in 1992.
He includes in the book a scanned copy of parts of the project report he had written on the project, which rekindles the controversy a few years ago, about the Cape Three Points discoveries.
Dr. Quaah revealed that he and other principal characters involved in the exploration programme in the early days of GNPC never benefited from the oil largesse.
Also, several young children missed the presence and love of their fathers very early in their lives because their fathers had to travel on official assignments away from home in Ghana or overseas in dedication to this project.
“For the sake of those children and their mothers, those unsung heroes and heroines, something had to be written down for posterity, and this book tries to honour the hard work of such individuals.” Thus, he said, is one of the reasons he wrote the book.
Titled: ‘My Footprints In Ghana’s Black Gold’, the launch attracted petroleum sector players.
In attendance at the book launch were high-profile dignitaries such as Kwame Pianim, a renowned economist and politician; Prof. Ivan Addae-Mensah, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana; Dr. Tony Oteng Gyasi, Board Chairman of Ghana Revenue Authority and CEO of Tropical Cables & Conductors Ltd;Lawrence Apaalse, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Energy Lawrence; Mr. Thomas Manu, a former Deputy CEO of GNPC; Theophilus Ahwireng, Managing Director of MODEC Production Services Ghana (MPSG) JV Ltd; and several former staff of GNPC among others.
The Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Tony Oteng Gyasi, a Board Chairman of Ghana Revenue Authority and Founder of Tropical Cables & Conductors, described the book as a captivating memoir of Dr. Amos Ofori Quaah’s role in Ghana’s oil industry.
Fire service personnel at the scene and some members of the Gas Tanker Drivers Union were seen supervising the discharging of the gas into an empty gas tanker.
Narrating how the accident happened to energynewsafrica.com, the driver of the gas tanker, who gave his name as Kobby, said on reaching a section of the motorway where the tanker overturned at about midnight, there was another truck moving in the other lane and kept veering off into his lane.
He said his continuous tooting the horn of his truck to alert the other driver of the seeming danger he was causing yielded no effort.
At that point, he said he realised that the driver could be napping behind the steering wheel and, therefore, applied the brakes but the truck overturned as a result of the slippery nature of the road in the raining night.
The spokesman for the Fire Service Personnel at the scene, Samuel Nartey, said they received a call at about 1 am and on reaching the scene, where they observed that the tanker was fully loaded with the flammable material, they quickly detected for leakage to block it to avert any possible explosion.
The incident has created a terrible traffic situation on the Accra-Tema section of the Motorway.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
The project is one of the many electric infrastructural assets, which form part of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Financial and Operational Turnaround project of the Ghana Power Compact II.
The substation has a capacity of 52 megavolts amperes and can supply all present and future power needs of the University of Ghana Medical Centre and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
It would also serve as an alternative source of power supply to other institutions and surrounding communities.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The dead were buried in three graves dug at the site of the explosion.
Local reporters who covered the burial event reported that Marcel Amadioha, who is the Interim Management Committee chairman of Ohaji-Egbema LGA, explained that they conducted the mass burial because many victims were unable to be identified by their family members.
“We have the instruction of the governor of Imo state, Senator Hope Uzodimma, to conduct a mass burial for the victims of the explosion. This is the least we can do for them because they were burnt beyond recognition. You can see there are no relatives of the victims who are here. This is because the victims were unidentifiable. This is the least we could do to avoid their bodies from decaying further,” he said.
“I believe this will serve as a deterrent to others. We are clamping down on all illegal refineries in this area. We can’t allow this economic sabotage to continue. We deserve better than this. The governor has shown enough compassion by providing us with enough logistics to carry out this mass burial.”
Ben Marcos, the area youth leader, revealed that the community is currently carrying out a sensitisation programme to educate the youth about the dangers of oil bunkering.
According to reports, traditional authorities performed libation to appease the gods to avert similar incidents in the future.
Environmental health officials of Ohaji-Egbema LGA carried out a fumigation exercise to forestall disease outbreaks in the area.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
“We cannot allow lawlessness to continue in this country. I will pursue justice for the parents if investigations showed culpability of the BEDC.
“Moreover, the government must do its job by not allowing shops or buildings to be erected under power lines. The lives of these precious children would not have been wasted if individuals do their jobs accordingly.”
Reacting to the tragic news, the Corporate Affairs Manager of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Ondo State, Michael Barnabas, said the incident was fatal because the metal container shop was under the high tension electric cable.
“Sadly, we received information about the electrocution of four little children within our network in Ile-Oluji due to an 11kv line that snapped. As a company, we console the families of the children because life is very sacred and should not end prematurely in this way.
“The deaths would have been avoidable if there were nothing within the 11meters right of way statutorily required for such line.
“While we don’t have the powers to relocate people directly living or trading under our electricity lines, we shall be very brutal in disconnecting such customers from the public power supply and ensure they never have access to it again which would probably lead to them relocating voluntarily out of the harm’s way. By this, we believe we can prevent future occurrence of similar sad incidents in future,” he concluded.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com