Sort the Power Problem Now!

Yesterday there was a power outage and we had not received any prior warning. The lights were off from about 0900hrs and came back on at 22.30hrs. This morning there was another power outage which lasted from 0850hrs to 1700hrs. We have only just been told that the 33,000 KVA transformer blew at Achimota which controls the main power stations for Accra.

We all know that the Akosombo Hydro Electric dam cannot provide electricity to the growing population of Ghana. Currently the Bui dam which had its blue print ready since the late fifties and early sixties is being constructed. Already the villagers situated near the Bui dam have been complaining about their relocation etc. but that is another story for another day.

What I would like to know is, what are we doing about solar and wind power? We are blessed with long hours of sunshine and still there are high import duties on solar equipment. Wind power is also a great option, seeing as cities such as Accra and Takoradi are situated along the coast but there has not been much talk about that as a solution either. The government should know by now that hydro dams are only one solution. We do have a thermal plant in the Western region but that relies on crude oil. Though large deposits of oil have recently been discovered in the Western region, the companies have not started producing commercial quantities, so we are stuck with using imported crude to run this plant.

The populace have been stuck with long months of scheduled and unscheduled outages and one would think that after 52 years of independence we would have been able to sort out our power problems by now.

Let me hear from you and how you are dealing with power solutions and/or outages wherever you are.