Electricity sector in Ghana

Electricity sector in Ghana

electricity, aspect in a geographic region

Year dem found am	1914
Country	Ghana
Operator	Ghana Railway Corporation, Ghana Grid Company, Power Distribution Services Ghana, Northern Electricity Distribution Company

Ghana dey send some of de power wey e dey generate plus fossil fuel give other countries. Ghana Grid Company dey handle how electricity dey move from one place to another. Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) den Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) na dem de share light give we.

Tings wey happen before

First time Ghana government put hand for light matter, be for 1914 wey dem start for Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana Railway people (wey be Ghana Railway Corporation now) dey run am. Dem extend de power supply go Sekondi-Takoradi insyde 1928. Ghana Public Works Department start dey give small direct current DC light for Accra around 1922. Dem start Big alternating current (AC) project for 1st November 1924, den dem fix small light plant wey e get three horizontal single cylinder oil engine wey dem install insyde Koforidua for 1925.

For 1926 insyd, dem start work make dem fit share light go Kumasi. For May 1927 insyd, dem start give small-small light for evening time, den by 1 October 1927 dem open full power station make e work proper. That same year dem fix DC light give Winneba, but later dem change am go AC by stretch de Swedru supply reach there. Between 1929–1930 time, dem carry small-small light reach Tamale, till new AC plant come set up for 1938 insyd.

De next power station wey dem build be for Cape Coast for 1932 insyd. Later, Ghana Electricity Department take over am for 1947. For 1948 insyd, dem open Ghana power station for Swedru. After dat one, dem also fix new generating plants for Akim Oda, Dunkwa-on-Offin plus Bolgatanga dat same year. 27 May 1949 insyd, Nsawam start get light through 11 kV overhead transmission line wey dem pull come from Accra. De Keta light supply wey dem plan put for de program delay sake of staff wahala, so e no open till 1955.

For 1956 insyd, dem open Tema power station wey get 3 x 650 kilowatts (870 hp) diesel generating set. THo power station come follow for 1957 insyd, den from 1961 go 1964 too. Dem expand Tema power station reach maximum capacity of 35,298 kilowatts (47,335 hp), wey make am turn probably de biggest single diesel-powered generating station for Africa.

For 1963 insyd, Ghana Electricity Division start run de first 161 kV transmission system for de country, wey dem take carry power from Tema Power Station. By 1965 peak time, about 75 percent of de power dey use for Accra.

For 1994 insyd, Ghana ein total power capacity be around 1.187GW, den yearly production reach about 4.49GW. De main supply source be Volta River Authority, wey get six 127MW turbines fix for Akosombo Hydroelectric Project. That time, dis project dey provide most of de light Ghana dey use, around 60 percent of am VALCO dey buy give dem smelter. For 1991 insyd, de power plant export be like say 180,000 tons of oil equivalent.

De rest of Ghana ein light dey come from diesel units wey Electricity Corporation of Ghana get, some mining companies, den one 160MW hydro plant for Kpong, about 40km down from Akosombo. Dem study plus plan third dam for Bui on de Black Volta River, wey dem finish am for 2013.

Other places wey fit get power generation be Pra River, Tano River, White Volta River plus Ankobra River, but all dem sites go need big-big investment.

Ghana try make light distribution spread well-well for de whole country. One program wey dem start dey provide reliable den wide light give de urban areas plus southern side of de nation. On top, dem commission de national grid extension go Northern Region for 1989, wey link north Ghana to de power wey Akosombo Dam dey generate.

Akosombo Dam wey dem build for Volta River for 1965 insyd, right now dey spill water through six floodgates sake of de all-time high water level insyde de dam.

De second phase of de extension go connect big towns for Upper East Region plus de regional capital Bolgatanga, wey e cost around US$100 million. De final phase go make Ghana fit export light cross de northern national border go Burkina-Faso. Early 1991 insyd, Electricity Corporation of Ghana start expand light networks for northwestern side of Accra, den dem plan say dem go spread electricity reach all de isolated places for Ghana wey diesel be de main power source. Dem also get plans make dem increase light supply by use thermal energy. By late 1994, dem dey expect start construction for de country ein first thermal power plant near Sekondi-Takoradi, wey schedule say e go complete for 1997. Dis plant add 300MW light join Ghana national grid.

From 2007 come insyd, Ghana turn electricity exporter, den from 2011 too e start export crude oil plus natural gas, Since 2012, Ghana dey generate light from thermal energy, hydropower, solar energy plus other renewable energies.

Fossil fuel

Crude oil den Natural gas production

Oil platform off de Sekondi-Takoradi Coast Western Region of Ghana

Ghana dey produce around 140–200 million cubic feet natural gas everyday, but since December 2012 de production no fit reach full capacity. Dis be sake of de delay for Sekondi-Takoradi gas refinery construction, wey suppose complete by December 2012 but dem push am go December 2013. Dis delay make dem dey flare gas, wey cause Ghana dey lose hundreds of millions every day from natural gas revenue. From December 2012 insyd, Ghana GDP dey lose billions of dollars every year sake of dis same refinery construction delay for Sekondi-Takoradi.

For 2007 insyd, dem discover Ghana oilfield wey reports talk say e fit get up to 3 billion barrels (480,000,000 m³) crude oil plus Ghana government too talk say de country fit expand ein petroleum reserves reach around 5 billion barrels (790,000,000 m³) crude oil within few years.

Ghana dey produce average 200,000 barrels crude oil per day, from de 1–2 million barrels per day wey dem dey expect. De crude oil production revenue wey dem dey expect be around US$30 billion every year. Just like Angola wey too dey produce crude oil, dem dey expect 2 million barrels of crude oil production per day den about US$33.7 billion crude oil revenue every year.

Big economic capital start enter Ghana economy from fossil fuel for first quarter of 2011, dat be when Ghana begin produce crude oil plus natural gas in commercial quantities. For 2011 insyd, crude oil industry alone account for 6% of Ghana economic revenue. Oil den Gas exploration still dey go on for Ghana, den de amount of crude oil plus natural gas dey increase steady. By August 2022, Ghana ein crude oil production size be around 177 thousand barrels per day.

Increasing energy supply plus consumption

Among Ghana ein energy consumers wey include industries plus residents, energy supply be very important for make consumption stay constant den efficient. For 2020 insyd, de country supply more than 12 million metric tons of oil equivalent energy, wey be all-time high compare to de five years before. For dat same 2020, total energy supply from natural gas reach around three million metric tons of oil equivalent, while hydro sources give about 627,000 metric tons of oil equivalent. For consumption side, de total primary energy wey Ghana use for 2019 be 100 terawatt hours, wey mean say around 3,180 kilowatt hours per person. Ghana ein final energy consumption, wey mean de one end users dey use directly, reach about 8.6 million tons of oil equivalent for 2020 insyd. Petroleum plus biomass be de energy products wey people use pass.

As part of de move to expand energy consumption give consumers, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) join hand plus Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) make dem boost de region ein electricity supply capacity for answer de high demand. Dis collaboration wey dem finalize for one meeting inside GRIDCo ein headquarters for Anwomaso, Ashanti Region, involve installation of 145MVA power transformer for key points between GRIDCo den ECG Bulk Supply Points. Dis initiative replace one of de old 50MVA transformers wey dey there, wey make de installed capacity increase well-well so say dem fit handle de rising load demands, especially for peak hours between 7 pm den 11 pm.

Solar energy

De biggest photovoltaic (PV) den largest solar energy plant for Africa, wey be de Nzema project based for Ghana, go fit provide light give more than 100,000 houses. De 155MW plant go increase Ghana ein electricity generating capacity by 6%.

Construction work on de GH¢740 million (£248 million) solar power plant, wey be de 4th largest for de whole world, dey develop by Blue Energy, one UK-based renewable energy investment company wey majority ownership den funding dey come from members of Stadium Group, a big European private asset den development company wey get £2.5 billion under management. De project director be Douglas Coleman from Mere Power Nzema Ltd, Ghana.

Unlike plenty other solar projects for Africa wey dey use concentrated solar power, dis solar plants go use photovoltaic (PV) technology wey go turn sunlight straight into electricity. Installation of more than 630,000 solar PV modules go start by de end of 2017.

As of August 2015, de project still dey under development.[needs update] For February 2023 insyd, president cut sod make dem start construction of 17MW solar power project for Lawra-Kaleo.

Wind energy

Wind turbines (eco park) Wind farm.

Plus de hydropower den solar energy, Ghana too dey produce plenty other renewable energy. Other forms of energy wey dey produce light for Ghana be wind power, geothermal den biomass. De official target of Ghana energy industry be say 10% of de country ein energy mix for come from renewable sources (wey no include large hydropower) by 2015 or latest by 2020.

Ghana get Class 4–6 wind resources for high wind places like Nkwanta, Accra Plains, Kwahu, Gambaga mountains. People estimate say maximum energy wey fit comot from Ghana wind for electricity na about 500–600 GWh per year. For 2011, from same Energy Commission, largest Akosombo hydroelectric dam for Ghana alone produce 6,495 GWh electric power. If you count all Ghana geothermal energy production, total energy wey dem generate reach 11,200 GWh for de same year.

These assessments no take account further limiting factors like land-use restrictions, existing grid or how far wind resource dey from grid, and accessibility. Wind energy get potential to contribute well to country energy industry – 10% fit be attained for installed capacity, about 5% of total electric generation potential fit come from wind alone.

Bio energy

hybrid Sorghum plantation field.

Ghana don put mechanisms to attract investments insyde biomass den bio-energy sectors to boost rural development, create jobs, plus provide foreign exchange.

Ghana get plenty land wey dey good for farming, but some spoil already. We fit use am plant things wey go turn into fuel like firewood plus petrol wey we go use for motors. If we do am, e go help Ghana get different types of fuel den secure our future energy. Big money wey dem put for bio-energy dey be for places like how dem dey make am, carry am from one place go another, keep am, share am give people, sell am, do de marketing, plus how dem dey send am go abroad.

Ghana ein goal for bio-energy, as dem talk am for demma energy sector policy be say, dem wan modernize plus check the benefit wey bio-energy get wey go last long. Biomass be Ghana ein top energy resource, for how ebi plenty plus how we dey use am. De two main bio-fuels wey we dey chop be ethanol den biodiesel. Because of that, Ghana Energy ministry make energy sector strategy plus development plan for 2010. Some of de important policy wey dey insyde for de renewable energy side be say make wood-fuel dey, make we use am well, plus make sure say e no dey cause deforestation.

De plan go dey support private business people demma money wey dem put in for dey grow things wey dem go use do bio-fuel,plus how dem go fi get bio-oil, chew am make e turn secondary products, so government go give dem sweet financial plus tax incentives. De Ghana Renewal Energy Law dey give correct tax things so private business dem go fit develop renewable energy, plus e dey talk about how dem go control bio-fuel plus firewood business for Ghana. Dem give Ghana National Petroleum Authority (NPA) work to do wey dey Renewable Energy Act 2011 insyde, say make dem price Ghana ein biofuel mix according to how dem dey price fuel.

De combined effects of climate change plus global economic wahala don make Ghanaian policymakers, industry, development practitioners hurry to find sustainable den viable solutions for bio-fuels.

Currently, Brazil wey make ethanol from maize den sugarcane, na di world largest bio-fuel market.

Energy sector insyde Ghana-statistics plus facts

Ghana ein light matter be say government dey inside energy production, how dem dey share am give people, plus how dem dey sell am. Energy dey come from renewables plus fossil fuels wey form di basis of electricity supply den consumption insyde de country. Gas na di biggest source of electricity production for Ghana, hydropower follow for back.

According to International Energy Agency ein data, Ghana ein light matter for 2021 depend on natural gas (62.6%) den hydropower (34.1%). Solar power no reach even one percent sef.

Check am too 

• Economy of Ghana
• Nuclear power in Ghana
• Dumsor, local term for electricity black-outs