The Executive Director for the Institute for Energy Security (IES), Nana Amoasi VII, has cautioned that Ghana could lose the electricity export market if President Akufo-Addo’s directive to curtail power continues.
President Akudo-Addo, in a letter to the Volta River Authority (VRA), ordered the retention of power exports for domestic use in response to the ongoing energy crisis.
Samuel Atta Akyea, Chairman of the Energy Committee of Parliament, made this announcement during an interview with JoyNews.
According to Atta Akyea, President Akufo-Addo is fully aware of the issues and has instructed the VRA to curtail the export of electricity to “prioritise the national need over generating profits abroad.”
However, energy watchers believe the decision to curtail power will not achieve the desired results if things stay the same.
Nana Amoasi VII maintained that the deficit in generation capacity poses a hindrance to achieving any positive outcome from the president’s directive.
“We were expecting that if we halt the export, it will solve the issue. No, we still have a deficit of 400 megawatts thereabout, so still load shedding will continue,” said Nana Amoasi VII.
He added that “the negative ramification is that if the proposed solution is extended, we may end up losing the export market.”
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Meanwhile, SONABEL, the power distributor in Burkina Faso, intends to engage with Ghana’s officials to address the power supply issues.
The country is currently facing the brunt of the power curtailment decision from the Ghanaian government.