Ghana plans stronger regional power trade with Nigeria

Ghana is exploring deeper electricity cooperation with Nigeria as part of plans to strengthen its position as a regional electricity hub, Richard Gyan-Mensah, the Deputy Minister of Energy and Green Transition, said. 

The Minister said Ghana was working towards expanding its regional power trade even though the country was already exporting electricity to neighbouring countries. 

Mr Gyan-Mensah said this on Thursday at this year’s Ghana Industrial Summit and Exhibition in Accra. 

The event was on a sub-theme: “Providing Reliable and Affordable Electricity to Drive Sustainable Industrial Growth.” 

The Minister said discussions were underway to add Nigeria to Ghana’s planned regional electricity transmission arrangements. 

He explained that the proposed arrangement could involve Nigeria supplying natural gas to Ghana for electricity generation, with Ghana subsequently supplying electricity back to Nigeria. 

Ghana, he stressed, currently had sufficient generation capacity to meet domestic electricity requirements while also participating in regional electricity trade, although additional generation would be required to meet future domestic demand. 

He said Ghana’s Energy Ministry currently identified electricity exports to Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso as part of the country’s regional power activities, while ongoing grid expansion was intended to support further electricity exports. 

Mr Gyan-Mensah stressed that regional electricity exports would not be allowed to undermine Ghana’s domestic electricity requirements. 

He said the government would continue investing in generation and transmission infrastructure to ensure that future domestic demand was adequately supplied. 

He reiterated the government’s $10 billion investment in electricity generation and transmission to meet Ghana’s projected increase in power demand through 2040. 

The investment requirement forms part of Ghana’s Generation and Transmission Master Plan covering the period from 2025 to 2040. 

In a speech read out by Mr Edward Ekow Obeng-Kenzo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority, he said the company remained committed to working with the government to ensure reliable and affordable electricity supply to support industrial growth. 

He said the Authority, with its long-standing experience in power generation, had enabled it to develop expertise in reducing system losses, improving safety standards, optimising resources and enhancing service delivery. 

Mr Kofi Nsiah-Poku, President of the Association of Ghana Industries, called on the government to review electricity pricing arrangements for industries, adding that rising power costs were undermining production and competitiveness. 

He said the withdrawal of electricity discounts previously enjoyed by some companies had resulted in increases of nearly 40 per cent in their electricity bills.

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