Campaign to reduce wastage of electricity launched

A campaign aimed at ensuring the efficient use of electricity by government agencies has been launched in Accra.

Dubbed: “Cut and save energy campaign”, the initiative is the first in a series of actions by the Energy Commission (EC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to focus on energy management practices in the agencies.

Audit

The Board Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwame Ampofo, disclosed at the launch that an energy audit carried out in 19 out of the 25 ministries and departments in April this year indicated that energy was excessively wasted.

According to him, the audit focused on three major appliances which were regularly used in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) — air-conditioners, light and refrigerators  which together consumed in excess of nine million kilowatts (KWh) and cost GH¢Ȼ5.5 million per annum as payable bills.

He explained that it was for that reason that President John Mahama had directed all MDAs to pay their own electricity bills from their budgetary allocations to reduce pressure on the national coffers.

“We are fully confident that through this campaign, a lot can be done to reduce this rather high consumption trend,” he intimated.

Dr Ampofo further charged officials of the various MDAs and metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to progressively reduce electricity consumption in their respective institutions by educating their staff on energy conservation.

 Commendation

For his part, the Executive Director of the Energy Foundation, Nana Asare Afriyie, lauded the initiative by the EC, adding that the campaign was necessary to reduce energy wastage in the agencies.

“In their homes, they conserve energy because they pay for it with their money, but in the office they do what they like with the energy, knowing that the Ministry of Finance will pay the bills,” he said.

He said it was incumbent on the state to focus its attention on energy conservation, considering the energy crisis in the country.

“The cheapest and easiest way to conserve energy is to manage the energy you have,” Nana Afriyie advised.