Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo revealed last week that the country was now a net exporter of electricity. Akufo-Addo made the announcement in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, at the inauguration of the Bolgatanga-to-Ouagadougou Power Interconnection Project. The project will see up to 100 MW per day of electricity supplied from northern Ghana to Burkina Faso.
As a new oil producer, along with over 25 years as a stable and democratic country, Ghana has embarked on transforming its power supply over the past two years. It has gone from being a country with an erratic power sector to becoming a net exporter of electricity in just 21 months.
Significant cost savings have been achieved through a review of 24 power purchase agreements (PPAs). This has led to the government terminating 11 power deals and rescheduling eight others, allowing the Treasury to save about US$7 billion in excess capacity charges over a 13-year contract period.
The Ghanaian government has also issued seven-year and 10-year cedi-denominated bonds totalling 4.7 billion cedi (US$956 million), which have halved the US$2.4 billion energy debt it inherited.
Consequently, with the reduction in energy costs, Ghana has passed the savings on to domestic consumers. Over the past 21 months, domestic consumers have seen tariff reductions of up to 17.5%, while industry has received a 30% discount, in an effort to stimulate industrial activity.
Ghana’s Jubilee oilfield, which was discovered in 2007 and came online in 2010, has played a major role in altering the country’s energy outlook. Gross production from the field over the whole of 2018 is forecast to average around 78,100 bpd of oil. Meanwhile, the government has been steadfast in its commitment to using oil revenues to create assets.
Ghana’s main producer and supplier of electricity, the Volta River Authority (VRA), now has a portfolio consisting of over 2,000 MW split between 50% hydro and 50% thermal power. Additionally, the VRA, with the support of German funding agency KFW, now has two large-scale solar power plants in the north of the country, as well as two wind power projects with a total capacity of 150 MW in Ghana’s south-east.
Significant cost savings have been achieved through a review of 24 power purchase agreements (PPAs). This has led to the government terminating 11 power deals and rescheduling eight others, allowing the Treasury to save about US$7 billion in excess capacity charges over a 13-year contract period.
The Ghanaian government has also issued seven-year and 10-year cedi-denominated bonds totalling 4.7 billion cedi (US$956 million), which have halved the US$2.4 billion energy debt it inherited.
Consequently, with the reduction in energy costs, Ghana has passed the savings on to domestic consumers. Over the past 21 months, domestic consumers have seen tariff reductions of up to 17.5%, while industry has received a 30% discount, in an effort to stimulate industrial activity.
Ghana’s Jubilee oilfield, which was discovered in 2007 and came online in 2010, has played a major role in altering the country’s energy outlook. Gross production from the field over the whole of 2018 is forecast to average around 78,100 bpd of oil. Meanwhile, the government has been steadfast in its commitment to using oil revenues to create assets.
Ghana’s main producer and supplier of electricity, the Volta River Authority (VRA), now has a portfolio consisting of over 2,000 MW split between 50% hydro and 50% thermal power. Additionally, the VRA, with the support of German funding agency KFW, now has two large-scale solar power plants in the north of the country, as well as two wind power projects with a total capacity of 150 MW in Ghana’s south-east.
