Ghana needs 30-yr energy plan to solve power crisis – Expert

Ghana must have a national energy plan and policy for the next 30 years as part of efforts towards solving the nation’s power problems, energy Expert Professor Charles Owiredu has proposed.

He has suggested the establishment of a Think Tank that will develop pragmatic ways of addressing the energy crisis in the long term.

“We need a Think Tank that will sit down and plan our energy issues for the next 30 years. This may not be thinkable to many people but if some people are thinking about 50 years, then why not also think about 30 years and then we begin to find strategies by which we can get this solved,” Prof Owiredu said.

He said such a policy will demand that: “Any Government that comes to power must follow our national agenda regarding energy supply but not their own party agenda, otherwise we’ll be playing politics with energy.”

Another energy Expert Dr Eric Twum who shares the same sentiment believes the energy problem must be tackled with some urgency.

“In Norway, they have a national policy that every Government buys in to…until the fundamentals are addressed, we will solve this problem.

Their suggestion comes on the heels of the current energy crisis, which is taking a toll on households and businesses. Some firms have complained that they have either cut down the size of their employees or folded up as a result of the power situation.

Two turbines of the Akosombo Dam have been shut down due to the low water level in the country’s main hydro power station.

VRA has said it cannot run all six turbines in the current circumstance, and has therefore proposed that Ghanaians conserve energy during the crisis period.

VRA has explained that running all the turbines to supply 900 Megawatts of power will mean the Dam would have to be shut down early next year – a situation that would rather worsen the crisis.

The current crisis has led to some angry consumers in various parts of the country – Accra and Kumasi – to threaten to burn down ECG installations.

President John Mahama has set up a new ministry of power to try and resolve the current energy crisis.