Power Minister Designate Proffers Solution For Power Outages

Dr Kwabena Donkor, Minister Designate for the newly created Ministry of Power, has identified among others, non availability of plants and fuel as the main causes of the current power outages. He said currently the fuel situation at Aboadze had improved and Government is working to address the challenges at the Tema corridor. The Minister designate, who was being vetted for the position, at the Parliament House in Accra, agreed to the invitation of independent power producer into the national power generation. He said with different generators and a neutral referee, he said it would ensure excess power supply for export in the next 10 years. Described as diligent and hardworking by the panelist on the Appointments Committee, Dr Donkor, who is also the National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Pru East in the Brong Ahafo Region, promised to make rural electrification a priority when given the nod. The energy expert suggested that all state buildings, with the exception of health institutions and security building should be provided with prepaid metres to check and reduce cost. He answered questions on the state of indebtedness of the Electricity Company of Ghana in the sum of $ 130 million to Sunon Asogli and Ghana Gridco Company Limited. Dr Donkor is expected to restructure the sector for improved power supply, and his appointment comes in the wake of the worsening energy crisis as a result of shortfall in generation. He told the vetting committee he would rely on the expertise of energy experts from both sides of the political divide in resolving the intractable power crisis facing the country. He said the power crisis has persisted for more than three decades and it is about time a concerted effort is made to tackle the problem. He said as Power Minister, he would pursue an aggressive policy of investment which had been lagging in the power sector for decades. Transmission and distribution losses, he said, are unacceptably high due to lack of investment. He said he is convinced that if some of the obsolete equipment are replaced the losses would be cut to acceptable levels. Dr Donkor described electricity as a tool for production,� and stressed the need for the investments to be made into its generation.