'Save Power' Says VRA

The current load shedding regime that Ghana is experiencing may continue for a long time if Ghanaians do not practice energy saving in their various homes, workplaces and industries. Though the Volta River Authority (VRA) has announced that the current regime of power rationing would be reviewed as soon as possible, ADM can reveal that Ghana's main electricity generator, the Akosombo Dam alone cannot in the near future satisfy the country's energy requirements to the full. The water capacity in the dam is at its lowest level and without a major "refill" cannot drive all the six turbines effectively and effeciently.

Last Tuesday, ADM was among a group of pressmen that visited the dam and power generating areas. The dam was commissioned in 1966 by Ghana's first Prime Minister, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. The dam and its environment have seen great improvements in technology and infrastructure since then. Apart from the state of the art six new turbines, which have replaced the old ones installed since the days of Dr. Nkrumah, the control room and the dam itself have also seen more modern facilities and improvements.

But with all these improvements, the effectiveness of the dam has been and continues to be determined by nature, that is, the amount of rain that falls within the catchment area of the Volta River and its tributaries.

The water level, which according to the Director of Hydro, Mr. Kirk Koffi should be at a maximum level of 278.00ft, is now at 236.77ft. This Mr. Koffi said is the lowest ever to be experienced by the dam since its creation.

He said the water level is so low that any more extraction of power or load would expose the turbines to air. This he said, "made us resort to the load shedding."

On why the company took some time before notifying the public about the situation, he said VRA has had a series of meetings with the companies that consume much power to reduce their power intake, but "the companies did not comply If they had done that, we would not have experienced this load shedding", he explained.

When asked if the water that goes out from the turbines cannot be recycled, Mr. Kirk Koffi noted that the dam has been made in such a way that recycling is impossible. "Recycling was not taken into consideration when the Dam was established If we decided to do that now, the amount of power we will use would be far more than what we would gain", he said.

For about 4 hours that the pressmen moved around the dam, it was clear that if nature continues to frown on Ghana with low levels of rainfall, then the country's main electricity generator at Akosombo Dam would be disabled in a major way. The turbines, which generate the electricity would be exposed to air, and according to the Director of Hydro, if the turbines are exposed to air, then the country would be in a "serious crisis".

He however noted that as a matter of urgency the VRA is putting other measures in place to curtail any such untoward occurrence.

"We are bringing in an Emergency Power Generation (EPG) unit to back the dam", he said. He expressed much worry about the way Ghanaians manage their electricity consumption. This he said accounts for much wastage in the system.

He said because Ghanaians don't pay applicable tariffs for electricity, most people do not use it wisely. "If we were all paying more, I think most people would have been very careful when using electricity . we must all blame ourselves for this situation", he explianed.

At peak periods (6pm-10pm and 6am- 10am), all the six turbines are used and during off peak periods (afternoon) only three are used. This shows how Ghanaians consume power in the evenings and early morning.

This is not the first time that the country load shedding was a major problem in the country.

However ADM has been informed that the current load shedding is not as much as those experienced in the previous years. The current load shedding statistics show that every community may sleep in darkness only once a week.