The Minister of Energy, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has said the intermittent power cuts being experienced in parts of the country may stabilise in December.
Parts of the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions have been experiencing intermittent power cuts for months now because of ongoing repairs to transmission lines.
However, speaking at the inauguration of the newly constituted board of Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), Dr Prempeh said: “We should be seeing tremendous improvement by the time December comes.
“The people in Kumasi at least are seeing improvement, but we need static valves in Kumasi. We need the generation in Kumasi to ensure that never again does ECG serve bad meters to Kumasi for the people of Kumasi to suffer.”
Fast-track work on transmission lines
The minister tasked GRIDCo to fast-track the work being done on transmission lines to the Northern Region.
“We need to improve it: 70% of Northern Ghana is our lifeline consumers,” he said.
“So we need altogether GRIDCo to make sure the 330KV line going through the North is completed as quickly as possible and then we can begin to establish the efficiencies.”
New chief executive
Meanwhile, Ing Mark Awuah Baah has been appointed the acting chief executive officer of GRIDCo.
It follows the successful end of tenure of Jonathan Amoako-Baah. Before his appointment, Ing Baah was a director in charge of systems operations at GRIDCo.
Awuah Baah was one of the Volta River Authority (VRA) staff who moved to join GRIDCo when Ghana’s electricity sector was unbundled, leading to the creation of the power transmission company.
He was appointed director of systems operations at GRIDCo in 2017.
About Baah
Awuah Baah was previously the manager in charge of market operations and special assistant to the GRIDCo chief executive officer.
He played an instrumental role in the transition from the old VRA structure and operationalisation of GRIDCo.
The newly appointed chief executive holds degrees in electrical engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, an MSc in electromechanical engineering from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute and an MBA from Leeds University Business School.
Good move
The Senior Staff Association (SSA) of GRIDCo has hailed Awuah Baah’s appointment, describing it as a step in the right direction.
A statement from the SSA said: “Following the announcement of the appointment of Ing Mark Awuah Baah as the acting CEO of GRIDCo, the leadership of the staff groups welcome this decision of His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and thank him for making the right decision in the best interest of the company and Mother Ghana.
“We also appreciate our sector minister, Hon Minister of Energy Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, for his endorsement,” the statement said.
“We wish to note that Ing Mark Baah’s appointment has brought great relief to the entire workers of GRIDCo and has deepened the confidence of staff that hard work, dedication and competence still pays.”
The association has pledged its commitment to work with the newly appointed CEO.
“We wish to congratulate Ing Mark Awuah Baah and wish to express our co-operation in working together to move GRIDCo to another level in the provision of reliable grid [sic] for development.”
Fred Dzakpata
Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#AsaaseRadio
#TheVoiceofOurLand
