Ghana's new government is looking to fix a crippling power crisis with a complete overhaul of its deficit-ridden energy sector including a boost for solar energy.
President Nana Akufo-Addo's New Patriotic Party (NPP) has now begun to develop a new electricity master plan, which also includes possibly listing state-owned power generation and supply companies on the stock exchange.
Such asset sales would not only move the under performing utilities off the government's books, but private ownership may well make them more efficient, ex-pert say.
Intermitten Power supply issues have dogged the West African states since the 1980s and became particularly acute in the past five years- although there has been some improvement recently.
Ghana's energy sector was crushed by an accumulated debt of $2.4n, the president said, as the cost of buying fuel, paying energy suppliers and running insufficient state companies spiraled out of control.
Its bad financial situation 'constitutes the single major hurdle to Ghanaians enjoying reliable and affordable electricity supply,' President Akufo-Addo said in January in his first state of the National address.
Improvements in the provision of power were seen in the run-up to December's election but Akufo-Addo said the challenges within the sector were far form over and high costs were a major stumbling block.
This year's budget included ambitious plans for renewable energy to provide two to 3 percent of supply to the national grid and, in addition, develop 38,000 solar-powered- homes in 'off-grid' communities.
Harnessing the power of Africa's most abundant free resource -the sun- to provide electricity has long been a challenge for governments across the continent.
In Ghana, there are hopes that more people will sign up to a 500-watt solar panel scheme started under Mahama for homes and businesses. The panels come free, but takers must still foot start-up costs of around $1,500.
The Energy Commission wants to see 200,000 such systems installed, but the scheme's coordinator, Kenneth Appiah, says since it was launched in February last year only 400 units have been installed. Among those who have received the panels - each installation is worth about $450 - is accountancy lecturer Daniel Nkrumah Afyeefi.
He said the programme was a good starting point to get his home off the grid and he planned to add more panels to lower food refrigeration costs and avoid hot, sleepless night.
"When you live in a place like Accra and you need to store food items.
When power runs off and on like that soem of teh things get spoiled," he told Agence France Presse (AFP).
"You tend to be buying as and when you eat, and that ends up increasing your cost of purchasing food items." Ghana gas seen four different power crisis since 1982 due to low water levels in the country's dams, said Ishmael Ackah, head of policy at the Africa Center for Energy Policy.
Source: Business Day
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SINCE THE PANELS ARE FREE, THE DEPOSIT OF US$1.500 REQUIRED SHOULD BE A LOAN GIVEN TO THE BENEFICIARIES REPAYABLE OVER A PERIOD OF BETWEEN 3 - 5 YEARS DEPENDING ON THE FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE BENEFICIARY, IF NOT TOO GOOD SHOULD BE GIVEN A LONGER TIME OF 5 YEARS TO REPAY THE LOAN BY MONTHLY INSTALMENTS. THIS WILL MAKE THE SCHEME AVAILABLE TO A WIDER AND LARGER PORTION OF THE POPULATION AND FREE THE BIGGER OF OTHER SOURCES OF ELECTRICITY FOR INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE BECAUSE THEY CAN AFFORD IT.
Did Galamsey and other problems you enumerated just started at the 3 months old Akufo-Addo'government?
YES ; another pie in the sky plans to save Ghana by Nana Addo but then he ignores the realyy relevant issues which is leading his government to make unpardonable mistakes ; today the mistakes are so many you cannot forgive the man who touts himself to be the man who appoints all the clever people but fails to notice the things that will bring his government down oneday ; there is the galamasey problems with the Chinese and other national running rampage on our lands and sheeting and polluting our waters ; then there is tha case of Addison taking bribes from Ameri ltd who are suppose to have duped Ghana by over pricing and Nana Addo says nothing and awaits a renegotiation which may never happen and does nothing to reprimand Addisson ; then there is Kan Dapaah who was wrongly apointed as the security co-rdinator a square peg in round hole ; an acccountant who suddenly becomes a security expert ; a man who does not want to go into into the trenches to fight but rather wants small boys like Wontumi and Ken Agye[pong to go and fight for him so he can enjoy the spoils of political power ; then you have the IGP Apeatu another uless man and a non thinker who is not smart enough to notice that accepppppting a donation from the Chinese is a BIG TRAP by these Chinese ; then there is customs and immigration at Kotoka and Tema where drugs exports are on the increase again and are on the rampage by allowing these chinese to bring in these heavy equipment and arms to do mine our rivers; who gave them the authorithy to carry arms and how dod theui pour into Ghana like ants even Nana Addo own home Kyebe is a cessipit of galamasey and Nana Addo pretends he does not hear anything or see anything.
I am sure other countries would wonder why it has taking us so long to realize this. I an a beneficiary but I think there could be a better approach. This free panel thing will only breed corruption. Just flood the market with it and push for intense education on the long term benefit. All and I mean All government agencies should be 100% off the national grid. Task them to use part of their budget to do this over a period of say 1yr. God in his infinite wisdom has made the sun available to all men including the rich and the poor. There can't be any overload with millions subscribing to the use of the sun. It is way too expensive to start with but cheaper in the longer term that is why there is that perception that, solar is for the rich but it is rather the other way round. In poor countries in West Africa, it is the poor who use solar, in fact, it forms about 80% of domestic energy use. Every average person know how to do the minor installations. I will agree 100% if the government should spend whatever amount to embark on this drive and DUMSOR will be a thing of the past.