15% of Ghana lacks electricity; annual growth rate has also slowed down - IES

15% of Ghana lacks electricity; annual growth rate has also slowed down - IES

- The Institute of Energy Security has predicted that the government may not achieve 100% electricity coverage by the end of 2020

- It explained that the current rate of coverage is 85% and the rate of growth of access is 0.6%

- The IES added that the current access rate is the lowest in the last 20 years

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YEN.com.gh has learned that about 85% of Ghana has access to electricity with an annual growth rate currently experiencing a decline.

According to Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi, the Executive Director of the Institute of Energy Security (IES), the current situation is a bit far off target and it appears there is no improvement in sight.

Sakyi indicated that the present situation still persists after over 30 years of the implementation of the National Electrification Scheme (NES).

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At the time of the rollout of the policy, national access to electricity stood at 25%, with only 5% rural penetration.

Per a report by classfmonline.comhttps://www.classfmonline.com/business/National-electricity-coverage-stands-at-85-annual-growth-rate-slows-Anamua-Sakyi-14628, he added that “It is evidently clear that with the current growth rate, it is practically impossible to achieve universal access by end 2020”.

For that reason, he went on, the government has implemented steps to revise targets and intends to develop strategies to achieve nationwide access by 2025.

The Energy Commission of Ghana has meanwhile indicated that at the end of 2000, the electricity access rate stood at 45%, which suggests an annual growth rate of about 2%.

Ten years later, it had increased to 67%, which revealed an annual growth rate of 2.2%.

The annual growth rate between the next six years that followed (2010 and 2016) as recorded by the Energy Commission, was 2.7%.

However, between 2016 and 2019, the annual electricity access growth rate has seen a substantial decline from 2.7% to 0.6%.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Energy, John Peter Amewu, has commissioned a 330/161 KV interconnecting Auto Transformer at Sunon Asogli Power Plant in Tema in the Greater Accra region.

The motive behind building the plant is to help boost power transmission and supply in Ghana.

Information available shows that the plant, which was built by the Ghana Grid Company Limited Ghana Limited (GRIDCO) and Asogli, cost $5.4 million dollars.

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Source: YEN.com.gh

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