<<Print>>

C�te d'Ivoire may not be able to honour a promise to supply electricity to Ghana during the Christmas period. This follows a shortfall in that country's production deficit, necessitating a decline of a request made by the Ghanaian authorities. The Systems Control Manager at the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Mr Frank Okyere, who made this known to the Daily Graphic in Tema, said electricity supply would, therefore, hit 390 megawatts (MW) during peak periods and 440MW at off-peak period. According to him, C�te d'Ivoire's gas production levels had gone down to a record low, thereby affecting electricity production from that country's thermal generating units. "While we would have expected the impact to be minimal during this festive season, the generation deficit is still low and could cause a system failure in the event of excessive pressure," Mr Okyere noted. "We had anticipated the provision of some respite to consumers to ensure the impact was minimal. However, the position of C�te d'Ivoire in this regard has dashed our hopes. "We can only hope that a number of areas will not be off at the same time during the period to safeguard security," he stressed. Togo & Benin To alleviate the situation, Mr Okyere said, GRIDCo had reduced electricity supply to Benin and Togo from 100 to 50MW. The reduction, he said, stemmed from the need to ensure that Ghanaian consumers were provided some respite. "As of today (Tuesday), we are only getting some 50 million standard cubic feet (scf) of gas from our Nigerian partners. As such, Asogli Thermal is being made to run at full capacity, while the Mine Reserve Plant (MRP) is being run at a half load," he said. First Quarter of 2015 Mr Okyere hinted that power supply in the first quarter of 2015 might be more erratic than it was presently. While many of the projects were expected to become operational within that period, he said the deficit was such that the inauguration of those new projects would not address it immediately. "The deficit is huge due to the surge in demand; as such the new projects to be inaugurated will only reduce the intensity of the load shedding," he pointed out. Power Minister The new Power Minister, Dr Kwabena Donkor, who also visited the company to familiarise himself with its operations, challenged GRIDCo to rise above the occasion to ensure that the power challenges were addressed.