In spite of disruptions in the country’s energy generation, the authorities in the power sector are not considering implementing any load-shedding exercise now, the Chairman of the Load Managment Committee, Mr William Amuna, has said.
Mr Amuna, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), said the early rains being experienced now could improve hydroelectric power generation while reducing energy demand.
According to Mr Amuna, the energy demand was likely to reduce by 500 megawatts (MW) because of the rainfall.
The cool weather precipitated by the rainfall, he said, could reduce energy demand by consumers.
Mr Amuna said the authorities in the power generation sector were monitoring the situation within this week, after which an informed decision would be made on whether or not the committee would trigger load-shedding management.
“For now we have not considered any load-shedding management timetable because it seems the rains are coming, and when the rains come demand is down by about 500 MW,” he explained.
Meanwhile, he said, the Takoradi Power Company (TAPCO) at the Aboadze enclave in Takoradi which was down as a result of a technical hitch which occurred during the conversion process was back on stream.
The company has now added 320MW to the national grid.
The power sector is currently facing numerous challenges, including shortage of gas from Nigeria to power thermal plants at the Tema enclave, low level of water in the Akosombo Dam, which is currently running only three out of the six turbines, and the shutdown of the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah for maintenance works, which has resulted in the loss of some power generation.
Mr Amuna did not give the current generation deficit but said work was going on to ensure that the situation was resolved.
Challenges
Last Friday, Mr Amuna hinted that the country’s power generation would face imminent challenges in a couple of weeks because the FPSO had been shut down for maintenance works and there was a further drop in gas flow from the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) Limited.
Furthermore, he said, the water level in the Akosombo Dam had reduced below the minimum operating level, prompting the authorities to shut down three of the turbines to save the dam.
The FPSO Kwame Nkrumah was shut down for mandatory inspection and maintenance works, while gas flow from WAPCo has reduced from the contracted volume of 120 million standard cubic feet (scf) to six million scf.
Source: Graphic Online