The Minister of Energy and Petroleum Emmanuel, Kofi Buah says he is confident that independent providers in the country will generate enough power to alleviate the current energy crisis in the country.
According to him, companies such as General Electric and Symbion Power among others will undertake projects that will add about 1450 mega watts to the national grid.
He said this when the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Ghana to define the parameters of investment in the energy sector .
Speaking at a press conference after the signing, Energy Minister Emmanuel Kofi Buah indicated the intervention of the new power providers will benefit the country immensely.
He also expressed the hope that Ghana will be able to have enough opening that will allow enough generation of power saying “we are hoping that we will be able to have enough opening that allow on annual basis enough generation and modernize our transmission infrastructure so that we don’t have the challenges that we see.”
This he said will also help the country in the long term.
The Energy Minsiter said his ministry is not only committed to addressing the country’s challenges but is also working to make Ghana a net exporter of power in the sub region.
Many parts of the country have been undergoing blackouts and load-shedding due to the low supply of gas from Nigeria.
Athough the Volta River Authority (VRA) has said it generates the required amount of power to end the load shedding and the frequent power outages soon, the problem is yet to end.
An Energy Research firm, KITE has also warned that Ghana is likely to be hit with another phase of severe power crises next year if rainfall for this year remain the same or lower than the previous year.
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana