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The Energy Commission has launched an energy-conservation campaign that seeks to offset the current shortfall in electricity supply and allow football fans to watch the World Cup tournament in Brazil uninterrupted. Under the campaign, dubbed �Switch off the freezer�, the commission is asking deep freezer and refrigerator users to switch off their gadgets between 6p.m. and 12 midnight, with the conviction that the energy conserved thereof will be enough to make for the current demand-supply gap. Beyond the World Cup tournament, the commission is determined to sustain the campaign as a major energy-conservation strategy to help address the country�s energy crisis. The Deputy Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mr John Jinapor, said the campaign was a litmus test whose success would provide grounds for its sustainability. �I appeal to all Ghanaians to treat the campaign with all seriousness,� he said at the launch of the �Switch off the freezer� campaign in Accra last Friday. Energy crisis Ghana is currently contending with an energy crisis that has compelled the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to implement a load-shedding programme. This follows the shutdown of some energy production units, resulting in a shortfall in production and, consequently, causing demand to outstrip supply. As of Thursday, June 12, 2014, the country�s energy generation capacity stood at 1,600 megawatts, which was far below the demand of 2,000 megawatts, according to the Energy Commission. Essence of campaign The way out of the current energy situation is either to invest more in the sector or use what is available wisely or do both. While it may be advisable to do both (investment and wise usage), the challenge that the nation is facing now requires more attention on the wise management of energy available in the short-term. With refrigerators constituting 54 per cent of domestic energy consumption, the Energy Commission envisages that targeting those gadgets in the campaign will yield positive results. The commission estimates that there are 1.2 million deep freezers and two million refrigerators in the country. And per its calculation, if users put off their deep freezers and refrigerators for the six-hour stipulated period (6 p.m. to 12 midnight), the nation could conserve between 200 and 300 megawatts of energy. �This alone puts into the system two Kpong Dams", the Chairman of the Energy Commission Board, Dr Kwame Ampofo, said. �If we do it well, it can change things in this country for the benefit of all,� he added. Don�t politicise energy issues The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy, Dr Kwabena Donkor, appealed to Ghanaians not to do politics with energy issues. �Let�s elevate the energy issue above partisan politics; electricity does not know any political party. There are fundamental and structural problems, and we have to address them,� he said. No fears The Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission, Dr Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, explained that energy-efficient deep freezers and refrigerators could keep food wholesome for between 48 and 72 hours after switching them off. He said apart from deep freezers and refrigerators, it was also important for people to minimise the use of other high-consuming electrical appliances such as water heaters, hair dryers and air-conditioners.