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•Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh (arrowed), Minister of Energy and Petroleum, briefing the delegation from the University of Environment and Sustainable Development
•Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh (arrowed), Minister of Energy and Petroleum, briefing the delegation from the University of Environment and Sustainable Development

University of Environment to get improved power supply

Power supply to the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) in Somanya in the Eastern Region is to be given a boost from the current 11 kilovolts-amperes to 33 kilovolts.

This is necessary to ensure that the high-performance equipment and gadgets which usually required optimum amount of voltage were properly safeguarded to avoid malfunctioning.

The Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, said during a visit to his office by a five-member delegation from the university that his outfit would, as a matter of urgency, begin arrangements to upgrade the electrification feed which would include moving the UESD from the Somanya electrification feed to Akuse to safeguard the feed.

Purpose of visit

The UESD delegation who made the request were at the office of the minister to, among other things, formally introduce the university to the ministry since they shared similar vision in the area of energy and environment.

The delegation included the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Eric Nyarko-Sampson, who led the team; the Registrar, Mrs Mary Agyepong; the Dean of the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences (SNES), Prof. Edward Wiafe-Debrah and the Director of the Physical Development and Estate Management of the University, Dr Isaac Abbam.

Dr Prempeh, who took cognisance of the high cost of equipment used by the institution, acknowledged that “it is only appropriate that the university’s request is granted immediately”.

He said the phase two of the infrastructure development of the school had already passed the ‘value for money stage in Parliament’ and that he was certain several infrastructure projects would begin on campus in the next few months.

He expressed excitement about the pedagogy within which the university was established, particularly programmes under the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences (SNES), adding that in trying to develop those other alternative sources of energy, the country might need to consider the associated repercussions.

Bui Power

The Minister of Energy and Petroleum said it was for that reason the Bui Power Authority Amendment Bill, 2020 was passed to amend the Bui Authority Act 2007 (Act 720), which was to empower the Bui Power Authority to develop renewable energy and other clean energy alternatives in the country.

In that regard, Dr Prempeh said, the energy economics component of the programmes on offer at the UESD was very important to the ministry and, therefore, commended management of the school for the introduction of such very important programmes which according to him touched the core of the development agency of the energy sector.

He was hopeful that graduates who would be churned out from the university would be highly equipped and better positioned to augment the bargaining team of the ministry.

Dr Opoku-Prempeh also promised to ensure that the university featured prominently in his discussions and interactions with its development partners and investors since the vision of the ministry was aligned with the core mandate of the university.

Programmes

For his part, Prof. Nyarko-Sampson, who also led the delegation, explained that the management found it very necessary to create a link between the university and the ministry because of the unique nature of the institutions in relation to the programmes it offered.

Those programmes, he explained, were specifically fashioned within and beyond the boundaries of energy sustainability and energy economics.

Prof. Nyarko-Sampson further said though the Ministry of Environment was the mother ministry under which the UESD was established, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum also stood to benefit from graduates from the university.

To that end, he said, the UESD was strategically positioned to initiate tailor-made programmes to suit the changing trends in the energy sector to meet the professional and technical needs of the ministry.

 

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