The Public Utility and Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced plans to start distributing roof top solar panels to small and medium scale businesses.
[contextly_sidebar id=”6QN5PR7k2DiYacuO50FvI0AUaskeQY2j”]”It is also a step towards doing our pilot of giving them some roof top solar panels which will power their equipment.
They don’t have very heavy equipment, like the seamstresses their machines, the barbers their clippers”, the Director of Public Affairs at the PURC, Nana Yaa Jantuah confirmed.
The move is part of efforts to help ease the impact of the ongoing load shedding on their operations.
It is unclear how much the project would cost and when the pilot will start.
According to Ms Jantuah,” we are not giving timelines now because we have to do preparatory work…we are not talking money now, we are talking the project (the preparatory stage)”.
Some businesses have already collapsed due to the worsening power situation, while others have cut down on labor to survive the turbulent economic situation in the country.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) at the beginning of the year roped in the industrial sector into the load shedding program and recently increased the load they shed to 30%.
The latest move by the PURC was made public after a meeting between the PURC, ECG, Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), and representatives of small scale businesses in Accra today.
The President of the Ghana Association of Barbers and Barbering shop owners Ibrahim Musah in an interview with Citi Business News expressed delight and said this means “a significant drop in the cost of doing business” for his members.
By: Rabiu Alhassan/citifmonline.com/Ghana