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The Energy Commission will, from next year, undertake a project to install a pre-programme automatic timer on all high-power consumption appliances.

The timers will automatically cut power supply to the appliances as and when it becomes appropriate to regulate and reduce the energy consumption rate.

More than a million automatic timers will be installed in various homes and offices, an initiative which is expected to save the nation about 300 megawatts of power a year.

It is estimated that a deep freezer, for instance, consumes about 250 watts of power daily.

The Chairman of the Energy Commission, Dr Kwame Ampoful, made this known at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration’s (GIMPA’s) maiden edition of the John Evan Atta Mills seminar.

He said the project, when fully implemented, would cost the nation $10 million to save 300 megawatts of power, whereas if Ghana were to generate that power, it would cost it $400 million.

Dr Ampoful said the commission was yet to determine how the distribution and installation would be done.

“We are yet to determine whether it will be sold cheaper or installed free at homes with deep freezers. An automatic timer costs $10,” he said.

Dr Ampoful said the exercise would commence as soon as the power situation stabilised.

Seminar

The seminar is aimed at tackling sensitive areas of the economy and finding solutions to issues that hamper the country growth.

It has been established to honour the late President John Atta Mills, who was passionate about issues relating to the power sector.

The seminar is also designed to ensure that students from GIMPA learn about key sectors of the economy and how they could contribute to addressing problems in those areas.

It is expected to be organised monthly.

Power situation

In the past few years, the country has been experiencing unstable power supply because of a number of factors, notable among them being the unreliable supply of gas from Nigeria.

The situation is also attributable to the lack of co-ordination among the GRIDco, the VRA and the ECG and their inability to properly monitor the power situation.

Dr Ampoful said if the nation was going to address those challenges, there was the need for policy makers to put in place measures that would ensure proper co-ordination among the agencies involved.

He said apart from those factors, the public must also adopt good practices on how to efficiently conserve power.

He called on Ghanaians to use energy-saving appliances, including LED lighting, instead of ones that had high energy consumption rate.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Rector of GIMPA, Professor Franklyn Manu, said the rationale behind the seminar was to discuss issues that affected the country’s growth.

He said Ghana had the resources to attain high growth if the fundamental challenges facing it were properly addressed.

Prof Manu said GIMPA would continue to explore measures that would help promote the country’s growth.