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A total of 1,800 energy efficient street lights are to be installed in the Ga East and West municipalities in the Greater Accra Region. The new street lights are to replace existing high-energy consuming street lights as part of efforts to save energy and enhance security in those areas.

Dubbed: the Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management (EEDSM) project, it is one of six major projects under the five-year, $489-million Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) signed between Ghana and the United States (US).

Installation

Speaking to journalists in Accra on Thursday, the Project Manager of the EEDSM project at the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), Mr Sylvester Ashong Ayayee, said ceremonial roads in the two municipalities would have the energy-saving lights installed to reduce waste in the energy supply chain.

“We are working with the Ministry of Energy and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to ensure that contractors on the project deliver to meet required standards, so that we will not have to replace the lights after six months, since they will last for the next five years,” he said.

Project

The $2.4-million EEDSM project is aimed at reducing demand, especially during peak periods. It will also allow electricity supply to be expanded to meet the increasing demand in a timely, low-cost and sustainable way.

Apart from replacing the street lights, 1,000 households across the country will have their electronic gadgets assessed to ensure that they are energy efficient.

“If we find households that use gadgets that consume more power, we will educate them on the need for them to conserve power by using energy-efficient appliances,” Mr Ayayee said.

He said MiDA would, under the EEDSM project, also undertake some key activities, including the development and enforcement of standards and labels, improvement in energy auditing and public information and education programmes.