The Head of the Generation and Transmission Unit at the Ministry of Energy in Ghana, Hanson Monney, has said the country is actively strategizing and implementing policies and initiatives to advance its power sector to achieve a full universal energy access and potentially export electricity to Nigeria.
Monney made this known recently in Lagos, highlighting that Ghana has already achieved a remarkable 80 percent to 85 percent universal energy access within its borders through robust policy formulation and implementation.
“So, we are working on all these things to make sure that the power system of Ghana continues to be as good as it is or even better, and then, maybe, we can be exporting more to our big brothers in Nigeria when the grid is finally settled.
“So, ladies and gentlemen, this is an overview of the Ghana power system and challenges,” he said.
Monney’s statement comes in the wake of Nigeria, Africa’s largest nation and leading oil producer, experiencing its second national electricity grid collapse, which resulted in a complete blackout for homes and businesses.
He acknowledged that achieving universal energy access in Ghana, especially in remote islands, riverside, or lakeside communities, presents significant challenges due to geographical constraints. To address this, he noted,
“So, now, we are trying to scale our renewable energy access, and that is how we have planned in 2022 to scale up our renewable energy program.”
Looking at Ghana, one of its foremost challenges in its power sector is financial sustainability, as the government of the country grapples with mounting debts and excess capacity procurement.
“There is so much debt that the government has to shore up to make sure that the system is afloat because we have procured a lot of excess capacity, which comes with attendant costs. So, these financial challenges require some policy actions to eliminate legacy debts,” Monney stated.
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