Sunon-Asogli Power Plant resumes production
The Sunon-Asogli Power Plant at Kpone near Tema which was shut down a week ago due to damaged equipment has resumed production.
Advertisement
The faulty components have been replaced and the plant is currently operating at a minimum of 120 megawatts (MW) and a maximum of 140MW.
The Public Relations Officer of Sunon-Asogli Power (Ghana), Ms Diana Delali Amaglo, who confirmed this to the Daily Graphic, said since the new components were fixed, the system had been running effectively, although it was yet to operate at full capacity of 180MW.
"Since these are new components, it will take some time before the plant is able to operate at full capacity. Our engineers are working around the clock to ensure that we do not experience any hitches or shut down," she said
Installed capacity
She said the plant had an installed capacity of 200MW of thermal power but supplied 180MW to the national grid.
"We started a test run of the plant on February 6, 2015 and as of 10 a.m. today, we were generating 138MW of thermal power,” she said.
She was optimistic that the resumption of operations at the plant would help ease the current power outages.
Recall
During a visit to the plant by President John Dramani Mahama last week, the Chairman of Sunon Asogli, Togbe Afede XVI, gave an assurance that maintenance work would be completed last Saturday to pave way for the full generation of energy.
Meanwhile, the Director of Systems Control at the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Mr Bernard Modey, has said the injection of some 120MW of power from the Sunon-Asogli Power Plant into the system would not bring about any significant improvement in the power supply situation.
He told the Daily Graphic in Tema yesterday that with demand standing at 2,000MW and supply deficit standing at some 800MW, the coming on stream of the 120MW could only result in partial improvement.
"There will be no significant change in the hours of light out. Any additional megawatts can, however, bring about a slight improvement in the situation and possibly provide some respite for consumers," Mr Modey said.
He called on consumers to be patient with the distributors because collective efforts were needed to address the supply situation.
Writer's email: [email protected]