<<Print>>

The Minister designate for Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor, has said he will rely on expertise from all sides of the political divide to solve the country's power crisis. He told the Appointments Committee of Parliament yesterday that Ghana's power crisis required the expertise of all Ghanaians, irrespective of their political leanings so he would tap the skills of all Ghanaians with expertise in the sector if his nomination is approved. Dr Donkor said the problems being encountered in the power sector currently were the result of the lack of investment in both equipment and human resource over the years, adding that he would pursue an investment policy if given the nod. He also said that most of the equipment used in the generation and distribution of power were obsolete; a situation which resulted in huge losses. If those equipment were replaced, he said, the losses would be reduced significantly. Power sources Dr Donkor told the committee that Ghana could no longer rely on hydrological sources to generate power but also said renewable energy sources such as solar could not serve as the basic base load. "When you have basic base load shortages, you cannot rely on renewable. You cannot use solar as base load. By 6 p.m, it will not be available and the cost of storing solar in commercial quantities is almost half the cost of generation so economically, it is not the best," he contended. The Minister designate said for domestic use, solar energy might be okay, adding that for those who bought estate houses which cost about $200,000, investing about $2,000 in the purchase and installation of solar equipment would be a good idea. Also, introducing solar energy into the national grid, as suggested by some energy experts was not cost-effective. The way to go, in his opinion, was to invest in thermal energy and gas for power generation. �Dumsor� To solve the �dumsor� problem in the short term, Dr Donkor said there was the need to purchase power plants and ensure that fuel supply to the plants was regular. He said if he should be given the nod, he would work assiduously to ensure the availability of power-generating plants and fuel; be it gas or crude oil. Turning the spotlight on the Electricity Company of Ghana, he said it was not "in the best of shapes" currently and added that the company needed to eliminate waste and be proactive. He added that ECG needed to �re-engineer� its business practices and adopt the designated ways of operation in the 21st century.