The Energy Ministry has given the assurance the ongoing load shedding exercise will be over in a month.
A Deputy Energy Minister, Benjamin Dagadu in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show said: �If we get the full complement of all the gas we need, within a month, we can be processing Ghana Gas to generate electricity� the load shedding will reduce if not eliminated. I can confirm that.�
Ghana in the last two years has been battling with energy challenges resulting in frequent load shedding exercises.
This is adversely affecting businesses and households, causing business groups and other citizens, demanding concrete measures to be put in place to end the power crisis.
Although the President and other government officials had early on given timelines for which the power crisis will end, the situation has not improved.
Government however said it is putting in place the necessary ground works to solve the issue.
Based on this, the Jubilee Oil Fields on Monday began supplying natural gas to the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant.
This, according to reports was done contrary to the advice of the Energy Commission.
��we had a whole discussion and Ghana Gas wrote to clarify the wielding that they were doing which became the problem for which the Energy Commissioned threatened to withdraw the permit that they gave to them.
When they wrote that letter, that settled it and so the gas has now been introduced into the system,� he explained.
He however stated that the responsibility now rests on Ghana Gas Company to start processing the 16 million standard cubic feet a day until it has the full spec of gas for the Volta River Authority (VRA).
Mr. Dagadu added that if the 16 million a day is increased to 50 million standard cubic feet, �we will have the full commission and the Jubilee partners can increase the volume to design capacity of the plant.�
Plant safety
The Deputy Energy Minister gave the assurance that the safety of the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant is guaranteed.
According to him, the officials of the Ghana Gas Company are �very confident and satisfied of the safety of the plant because this is not a sophisticated plant. They are satisfied with all the arrangements they have made and we can guarantee the safety of the plant through operations.�
He mentioned that currently, the insurance of the plant is still under SYNOPEC but after the commissioning of the project, �Ghana Gas will take the insurance required to start the operation.�
Gas from Nigeria
Regarding the supply of gas from Nigeria through the West African Gas Pipeline, Mr. Dagadu admitted that the since the nation has been be receiving full volumes of gas, when the Atuabo plant is commissioned, the gas from Nigeria will then be transferred to the gas plants in Tema.
�If it�s still the small quantities that they normally give, it will all end up in Tema,� he said, adding that Ghana will �continue having this supplement and have a permit holder for translation of gas for BOST [Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation].�
BOST, he said, will then be required to make arrangements for Ghana Gas to �transmit backwards any extra gas that they will have from Aboadze to Aboadze so the tow will continue to complete each other.�
<<Print>>