Major Power Crises Imminent

VALCO THREATENED BY SHUT-DOWN
VRA DEPEND ON THERMAL PLANTS

The Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), major dependants on electricity generated from the Akosombo Dam was expected to shut down two of its 20 pot-lines by the close of yesterday.

The shutdown is upon a demand from the Volta River Authority (VRA) whose hydro plant is operating at unappreciable state as a result of of the water level in the dam falling to a very low level.

Information available has it that at least 600 of the present total workforce will be going home. Sources at VALCO disclosed that on the December 31, last year, one potline was shut down and then three days later, the VRA requested that one of the two potlines remaining be shut down as a matter of urgency. Wednesday January 8 that line would be going off and from Monday January 13, an exercise will begin at the giant smelting plant to prepare the affected workers to go home.

Painstaking investigation by this paper revealed that, the country's two hydro plants at Akosombo and Kpong are to supply 35% of total power needed this year with the rest, 65% coming from thermal sources at Aboadze and the Ivory Coast.

A new thermal plant under construction at Tema, Strategic Reserve Plant (SRP), when completed in the next few months will also boost the power supply.

Negotiations have been going on between VRA and VALCO on the amount of power that could finally be reduced for the aluminium plant.

VALCO has been utilising less than 30% power generated from the dam over the past period when the rainfall pattern became disappointing culminating in rampant shutdowns and redundancies.

The Volta dam which was constructed in 1965 at a cost of ?70 million has six unit generators delivering 912 megawatts capacity.

The VRA is undertaking retrofitting on some of the unit generators to be completed in December 2004.

The first phase of one generator will be completed in August this year whiles the last generator will be completed next year.

Financial support for the retrofitting project is coming from the International Development Association (IDA), $7,682,827; European Investment Bank, $47,168,059; VRA $61,912,112 in addition to local currency (?42,236,642,630) $7,087,888 as at last year.