The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) will today release a
time table for the ongoing load shedding exercise. The Energy Ministry has
disclosed that the power rationing will be intensified due to
disruption of gas supply from Nigeria following labour unrest in that country. This
means there will be a shutdown of the Asogli Power plant which provides about
180 megawatts of energy to the national electricity grid. This is the third time Nigeria has interrupted its gas supply to Ghana in 2014
alone but the Volta River Authority (VRA)
has said it will go back to the use of crude oil to power the country’s
generation plants. The development means there will be an energy deficit of
about 350 megawatts; a situation likely to intensify the current load shedding
exercise in the country. The Head of Cooperate Communications at the VRA, Sam
Fletcher told Citi News that most of the machines being used by the VRA
are dual fuel powered therefore, in the absence of natural gas, the authority
will switch to the use of light crude oil. He said although running on crude
may be expensive, there is no other alternative. Fletcher disclosed that the
remaining gas currently being used in the production of electricity “is almost
gone so they will be switching off immediately to light crude. Meanwhile,
Karpower International Limited, a Turkish company is expected to build two emergency power ships for Ghana.
Source: Citi
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