VRA, GRIDCo take steps to improve power supply
The Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) are upgrading and expanding various facilities to improve generation and reliable power supply in the country.
The initiatives also include the construction, efficient operation of power plants and cleaning of transmission lines.
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The effort is to ensure regular and uninterrupted power supply.
This was made known at a panel session during the 2021 VRA Customer Forum dubbed: "Clean, Reliable Power Supply — Our Commitment" in Accra last Friday.
A Deputy Chief Executive of the VRA, Dr Ebenezer Tagoe, said following some turbulent times, the authority had to do some introspection to look at its plethora of costs.
He said the authority adopted the thermal efficiency plan to ensure that its thermal plants operated efficiently on combined cycle mode to bring down the authority's cost of operation, thereby enabling it to make some gains.
Reliability
The Manager in charge of Power Systems Planning of GRIDCo, Mr Frederick Okang, said the company helped in keeping the reliability of the grid by the system frequency.
He said some of the country’s grid infrastructure was as old as the power generation authority, but added that "we are doing well to build a grid that is resilient and also efficient for use".
He said over the years, the company had improved the reliability of power supply, and cited the inauguration of a 500 megawatts (mw) substation, with the help of the Millennium Development Authority at Pokuase last year as an example to improve power reliability in the capital, while the inauguration of the last section of the 330 kilovolt (kv) between Kumasi and Kintampo, covering over 800 kilometres of lines, had improved reliability in the area.
Upgrading
By the end of last year, he said, the company also improved the reliability of power to Accra by upgrading its 161 lines from Tema through Achimota to Mallam, stressing that the company would inaugurate a sub-station at Kasoa this month.
The acting Senior Engineering Manager of AngloGold Ashanti-Induapriem, Mr Joseph Effah, who represented the Ghana Chamber of Mines, said there had been significant improvement in power supply and reliability.
He said mines operated all day and all week, and that even little dips frustrated their work because they affected their operations.
Investment
Another Deputy Chief Executive of the VRA, Mr Emmanuel Osafo, said the authority continued to invest to improve the reliability and efficiency of its plants.
He said with the reduction in the cost of generation, its tariffs had remained constant in the last three years.
He said the authority achieved its best financial performance in nine years in 2020.
The Chief Executive of GRIDCo, Mr Ebenezer Essienyi, said the grid — which had a demand of about 422mw during its establishment — now had a demand of 3,346mw, and anticipated that to go further up around 3,600mw by the end of the year.
He said although that was good, it put more stress on the grid.