CPP calls for innovative solutions to power crisis

The party said for instance, in a normal biscuit factory, continuous ovens are used for the production of biscuits. When power outage occurs the conveyer in the oven stops which results in the damage of the  biscuits.

It said, Industries using steam boilers are compelled to restart the boilers after the power has been re stalled. In other words, all the energy used in  starting the boiler goes waste. Factories using extruders have special problems in that the extruder locks up during power outage because the operator could not clean the extruder before the power outage.

In a vegetable oil refinery vacuum pumps are used to stabilise the relation between temperature and pressure. If power goes off and the vacuum pump stops, the oil temperature rises uncontrollably completely destroying the oil.

Poultry farmers using incubators always lose out during power outages. These are some of the serious problems manufactures are experiencing as a result of the present power outage situation.

When you are in a steel mill, power outages can be catastrophic.

Finally, manufactures have to pay workers whether there is power or no power and this has resulted in a loss of revenue and increased wage bills, the party stated.

The party said Ghana must also harness crude oil production, not just as a fuel, but to use it for value-added products such as tyres, soaps and petroleum jelly to generate income.

 "Ghana should take maximum advantage of the newly discovered oil reserves to ensure that the product benefits the entire population; downstream value addition should be our first option. This will stop the so-called curse of crude oil. Many products can be derived from crude oil," according to the party.

"We have struck oil, yes, but the only way to prevent an oil curse is to go for the value addition chain in order to spread the wealth base. We must use the biofuel for power and energy and multiply our revenue through a value addition chain of crude oil. We must go in for meticulous planning with quantifiable targets, ingenuity, and endeavor, backed by uncompromising determination."

 The CPP also said energy generated from animal waste and atomic and nuclear energy were viable options to increase the country's power capacity.