Ghanaians will fuel Power barge – Jinapor

Ghanaians will directly be responsible for the fuel that will keep the much expected power barge running, deputy Power Minister John Jinapor has stated.

According to him, it has been agreed by government and the relevant stakeholders that “end users” will have to pay for the power that will be generated by the plant which is currently sailing on the waters of Ghana.

The 225 Megawatts capacity power barge from Turkey is expected in Winneba in the Central region at 6pm today. It is expected to dock at its final destination, the Tema port, on Saturday. The barge was initially scheduled to arrive in Tema on Friday morning but delays in documentation and routine formalities at the Abidjan Port where the barge was offloaded by the Black Marlin, a speed deck cargo ship which transported it from Turkey, dragged the process.

There have been concerns over how government will secure funding to keep the plant running in order to enable it generate constant power to support the national grid.

Speaking to Accra-based Joy FM Friday, Mr Jinapor said the Public Utilities and Regulations Commission (PURC) is in the process of developing the mechanism for Ghanaians to pay for the fuel which will be used to power the plant.

“With the barge and its operations, the payment will be done by the end user and not government.

“Whatever power will be generated ought to be paid by the end user and not government, that has been the agreement. Currently, the necessarily arrangement is being done by the PURC to ensure that the end user pays for whatever power that is generated by the barge,” he said.