Herbert Krapa
The Minister of State at the Ministry of Energy, Herbert Krapa, has assured Ghanaians of uninterrupted power supply.
Speaking during a working visit to a number of power producing plants in the Aboadze Energy Enclave, Sekondi in the Western Region, the minister said, “the Ghanaian people rely on us, count on us to make sure that the lights are on, and it comes from the power generation. We will also ensure that the power is on.”
Mr. Krapa’s visit include the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo), the Amandi Energy Plant, an Independent Power Producer (IPP), the Volta River Authority (VRA) Thermal Plant and its different plants; the Tiko, Taka, as well as the T3.
The visit offered the minister the opportunity to acquaint himself, at first hand, with the operations of these companies, engage the engineers to appreciate if there are some challenges, and see how to work to ensure that power generation is sufficient and constant.
At each of these facilities, the minister who until his elevation to the current position was the Deputy Minister of Energy, was briefed by the management about their operations and after that, taken round to see the different components of each plant and how they were operated.
Briefing the media, Mr. Krapa noted that he used the opportunity of being in the Western Region to visit these facilities, engage the engineers, understand if there are any issues, and work out to make power generation sufficient at all times.
At Ghana Gas, the minister said although the Atuabo plant is in its second day of the 17-day maintenance, “the lights are on across the country. This is because of the planning that went into the process.”
He gave the assurance that without any challenge from ENI Ghana, the other suppliers of gas, within this period, there would not be any issues with power generation, and expressed confidence that power generation will be stable for distribution across the country.
The management and engineers at Amandi announced that due to sudden defect detected recently on the plant, it had become necessary to undertake a major maintenance that would require shut down of the plant in November this year.
Mr. Krapa said this November, maintenance has not been factored in the yearly planned maintenance agreed with the IPPs because it has just been brought to his attention, and asked the management for a meeting to discuss the issue.
He indicated that the ministry is aware of the importance of maintenance to the generation and safety of the plant, which must be balanced with the provision of sufficient generation at all times.
Mr. Krapa said his primary objective is to keep the light constantly on, and commended the players in the industry for their contribution to the maintenance of constant supply of power, and assured that the ministry would maintain cordial relation for mutual benefit.
A Daily Guide Report