Ghana's power authorities discount power crisis due to early rains

Early rains in Ghana resulting in a possible energy reduction of 500 megawatts (MW) are likely to forestall load shedding, the authorities said here Monday.

Local media reports quoted the Chairman of the Load Management Committee, William Amuna, as saying that, in spite of disruptions in the country's energy generation, authorities in the power sector were not considering any load shedding exercise now.

Amuna, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), said the early rains being experienced now could improve hydroelectric power generation while reducing energy demand.

He said the authorities were monitoring the situation within this week, after which an informed decision would be made on whether or not the committee would trigger load-shedding management.

"For now, we have not considered any load-shedding management timetable because it seems the rains are coming, and when the rains come demand is down by about 500 MW," he explained.

He said the Takoradi Power Company (TAPCO) at the Aboadze enclave in Takoradi, which was down as a result of a technical hitch which occurred during the conversion process, was back on stream to add 320 MW to the national grid.

The power sector is currently facing numerous challenges, including shortage of gas from Nigeria to power thermal plants at the Tema enclave.

It is also suffering from the low level of water in the Akosombo Dam, which is currently running only three out of the six turbines, and the shutdown of the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah for maintenance works, which has resulted in the loss of some power generation.

Amuna did not give the current generation deficit but said work was going on to ensure that the situation was resolved.

He hinted last Friday that the country's power generation would face imminent challenges in a couple of weeks because the FPSO had been shut down for maintenance works and there was a further drop in gas flow from the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) Limited.

Furthermore, he said, the water level in the Akosombo Dam had reduced below the minimum operating level, prompting the authorities to shut down three of the turbines to save the dam.

The FPSO Kwame Nkrumah was shut down for mandatory inspection and maintenance works, while gas flow from WAPCo has reduced from the contracted volume of 120 million standard cubic feet (scf) to six million scf. Endit