General Electric to add more power

Mr Lorenzo Simonelli, Global President of General Electric (GE) in-Charge of Oil and Gas has stated that the company intends to add 1000 mega watts of power to the country’s energy stock by 2016.

He said the generation of the additional power to meet the country’s energy needs is in-line with government’s vision to provide 5000 mega watts of power by the end of 2016.

Mr Simonelli announced this when he led a delegation from General Electric Corporation to pay a courtesy call on Dr Mustapha Ahmed, Minister of State in-Charge of Development Authorities at the Flagstaff House in Accra.

Besides, the two men also held discussions on a wide range of issues including health, power and oil and gas.

Mr Simonelli stated that Ghana has resources in terms of oil and gas and expressed the company’s readiness to participate in the upcoming project as they have done in the health sector.

He said currently, General Electric is working to build the capacity of local people in the oil and gas sector in the area of services and technical knowledge.

He said the company is also developing new oil fields with the Italian oil giant ENI and Sankofa fields in the Western region.

Dr Mustapha Ahmed said Ghana was not doing too well in the area of power generation due to the low level of water in the dams as well as the supply of gas to the thermal plants.

He said government was serious about the project GE is pursuing because energy is one of the critical needs of the country, to propel it to the next level of development.

He said the second Compact of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), which was signed in Washington D.C, was all dedicated to the energy sector.

Dr Mustapha Ahmed also stated that, even though the $535 million from the MCA compact may not be sufficient for the power sector, the intention is to leverage about $5 billion worth of investment into the energy sector, adding that, this should make the country self sufficient in energy generation.

He said GE’s collaboration with Ghana has been long standing, and that, recently, the country took delivery of scanners, which would be a boost to the health sector.

He commended the company for offering to train Ghanaian personnel in the oil and gas sector, adding that, the gesture is in-line with the government’s local content policy.

Mr Leslie Nelson, General Manager of GE, Power and water, Africa, stated that the company would continue to engage government on its operations in the country.

He noted that as GE builds its platform in Ghana they would use the opportunity to promote the company’s multiple businesses such as healthcare, power and oil and gas.

He announced that the company has made enough progress in the construction of the 1000 mega watt of power six months ahead of schedule.