Dr Kwabena Donkor, former Minister of Power and NDC Member of Parliament for Pru East, said the relocation of the Ameri power plant would not contribute to increasing power generation but had other strategic objectives.
He said the relocation of the American plant will play an important role in stabilizing the power grid, allowing GridCo to reduce transmission losses.
In a news file on April 20, he said that in 2014, the National Democratic Congress government planned to set up power plants in the country’s central regions, but fuel was a major challenge.
“There was a gas pipeline up to Prestea, but there was no gas pipeline up to Kumasi, so without fuel there was no point in physically relocating at that time. Fortunately, unfortunately. , the process was aborted because the people of Ghana decided that we should leave the scene. Otherwise, the generation in the central corridor would have happened much earlier,” he says.
The former power minister said there are benefits to installing power generation in the intermediate corridor.
Dr Donkor said the electricity transmission company, GRIDCo, owed money to the Volta River Authority (VRA) due to transmission losses that exceeded limits approved by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC).
He said moving power plants closer to markets limits the amount of transmission losses.
“It also helps stabilize the grid. There needs to be a certain balance in the grid. If you have a situation where you have had an Eastern Corridor and a Western Corridor in terms of generations and still have a delicate balance; You can’t overproduce from one corridor without anything coming from the other. The grid will trip.”
“Early interconnect transmission systems require a certain balance. So having a generation in the center aisle will help with that,” he said.
Even though the NPP initially opposed the acquisition during its protest campaign, the NDC has primarily expressed concerns about the amount spent on relocating the plant and the change in the name of the plant.
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