These savings will come from the utilization of gas from the Sankofa fields.

[contextly_sidebar id=”rUk7wTuiKssKwXHgLFNF9GL6QfVX4pUm”]Mr. Aidoo justified the Akufo-Addo’s administration’s extension of the deal it once criticized, and said the previous deal was not cost-effective because of the 10-year duration.

It is unclear what the new terms are, but the company recently announced it will move from using Heavy Fuel Oil [HFO] to natural gas when it moves the vessel from Tema to Takoradi.

The Karpowership from Turkey has the capacity to supply 470 megawatts (MW) of power to Ghana.

“The basic structure of the deal then was totally wrong. It was nothing to write home about… We’ve renegotiated the Karpower deal and stretched it over 20 years to ensure value for money,” Mr. Aidoo said on Eyewitness News.

“If you sign a power purchase agreement over a short period of time; that was 10 years, what it meant was that the good people of Ghana would virtually have to pay through the nose over a 10-year period which necessarily means they would have to pay higher tariffs. To stretch over a longer period will [see tariffs] come down to somewhere in the region of 10 cents per [kilowatt hour].”

The tariffs under the previous deal stood at around 15 cents per Kilowatt hour.

Aside from the reduced tariffs, Mr. Aidoo added that, extending the deal also “stabilized the power in the west and at the same time utilizes gas from the Sankofa fields, which if we didn’t will cost the government somewhere in the region of $60 million dollars per year.”

Retort from Minority

The Member of Parliament for Damongo Constituency, Adam Mutawakilu, however said the renegotiation was nothing exciting.

He also said the reduced tariffs as a result of the extension was no surprise.

“We know Karpower is a ship. The moment you extend the period, the tariff will come down so it is not magic that they have done. But what they have done is that, by going that way, they will not be able to build an asset for the country. That means after 20 years, the ship goes back.”

The MP also maintained that the ship was not needed after 10 years “because we have excess capacity and that becomes an asset to the nation.”

‘Karpower barge deal makes no sense’ – Bawumia

In December 2015, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, then running mate to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said it “made no sense” for government to secure the power barge as an emergency solution to the power crisis, explaining that the deal did not give the country value for money.

The 225 megawatts power barge docked at the Tema Port in December 2015, to augment the shortfall in power supply at the time.

Per Dr. Bawumia’s analysis, “A 225 megawatts plant like the Karpower Plant that we are renting, will cost some 225 million dollars if we wanted to purchase it; and we will own it. Under the Karpower deal, we will pay for the power from the barge for the next ten years whether we use it or not. The African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) estimates that based on the capacity charge alone which is 5.6 percent per kilowatt hour, it will cost Ghana close to one billion dollars over the next ten years for the energy from the barge. This, however, excludes the cost of fuel which will require about 35,000 tones every month. After ten years, the barge will sail away and with this one billion dollar, we could have built a 1,000-megawatt plant for ourselves. Power from the barge will also cost at least twice what it cost to supply power from Takoradi. This really does not make sense” he concluded.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll save $60m yearly from renegotiated Karpower deal – Dep. Minister appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Company further highlights its intentions to do so by the end of the second quarter of this year.

Ahead of the relocation, the company has held various stakeholder meetings to sensitize stakeholders in the areas about the operations of Karpowership and its contribution to communities.

Residents of Tema Newtown and its surrounding communities had earlier called on government to relo­cate the Karpowership, as smoke emanating from the power ship was severely polluting their environment.

But in an interview with Citi Business News, Corporate Communications Specialist at Karpower, Sandra Amarquaye said the relocation is part of government’s plans to ensure full utilization of gas resources from the Western Enclave.

““Karpowership will deploy its 470MW Karadeniz Powership Osman Khan to the Sekondi Naval Base by the second half of this year. This is in line with government’s plans to ensure full utilization of gas resources from the Western enclave of Ghana. The engagement is to ensure our new stakeholders understand our business and how we operate. At Karpowership, we value our relationship with our local stakeholders” she stated.

About Karpowership

Karpowership is the only owner, operator and builder of the first Powership (floating power plant) fleet in the world.

Currently, the company has over 2500 employees, and owns and operates 15 Powerships with an installed capacity of 3 GW, and 5 GW Powerships under construction.

Karpowership is operational in Ghana, Indonesia, Lebanon and Zambia (via Mozambique).

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By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post Karpower relocates vessel to Takoradi  appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The approval follows the Speaker’s directive to the Attorney General to make available to the House, a ruling of the Supreme Court on the Karpower deal.

After going through the ruling, the First Deputy Speaker, Ebo Barton Odro who presided over proceedings on Friday said it had no bearing on the approval Parliament would give.

The deal was however approved.

The House also approved the report of the Presidential Committee on Emoluments for Article 71 office holders including that of the President.

The details are scanty because the deliberations on this report were held behind closed doors.

Minority wants Ameri, T3 power plant deal suspended

The Minority earlier asked Parliament to suspend a new agreement brought before the House for the re-powering of the Aboadze T3 power plant by AMERI.

The 138 million dollar agreement if approved will see the provision of four gas turbine engines in Takoradi to boost the capacity of the T3 plant.

The minority argued that the relevant documentation on the deal has not been provided to the House and it would be mistake for it to be passed now.

Arguing their case in Parliament on Friday, the Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu said “it will be a trajectory if this House should vote for this on accounts of what the Minister is telling us, completely misleading this House, it will be a tragedy.”

“Mr. Speaker I’m advising that we step this down for the time being. Mr. Speaker I will beg of the Majority Leader to please intercede that we step this down and do better diligence on it if we have to come back on the 4th of January and deal with it decisively by which time the House would have been given the relevant documentation, Mr. Speaker then I guess we can deal with that but certainly not now,” he added.

Meanwhile, the deal was deferred until Parliament returns from the Christmas break on January 4, 2017.

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Parliament approves $225M tax waiver for extra Karpower plants appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.