Bui Power records highest annual generation of power, revenue

Bui Power Authority (BPA) recorded a 1,551 Gigawatt hours (GWh) increase in power generation last year, the highest annual generation since the company commenced commercial operations.

The increase was largely due to high water inflows into the Bui reservoir which allowed it to generate more energy to meet demand.

This boosted the company’s revenue from $110.3million to $158.8million, and also increased its profit from $40.2 million to $79.2 million, representing an increase of 97 per cent.

This was contained in the BPA’s 2022 corporate annual report which was discussed during the company’s annual general meeting in Accra yesterday.

Achievements

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the authority, Samuel Kofi Ahiave Dzamesi, said the achievement was a testament to the hard work of employees and the sound management of its resources.

He said significant progress was also made on the Bui 250MWp Hydro-Solar-Hybrid (HSH) project last year.

 It formed part of its effort to explore the opportunity that existed for the technical complementation between hydro generation and solar power production.

The CEO said the Bui HSH scheme had the advantage of allowing the plant to maintain its operations at peak times and provide system support at other times as may be required by system operations.

He said phases Two and Three of the project had achieved completion rates of 34.7 per cent and 8.0 per cent respectively.

Mr Dzamesi said the authority had also earmarked sites in Bawku, Yendi, Tumu, Sawla, Buipe and Zebilla for various Solar PV projects. 

Also, he said following the successful piloting of a small and mini hydro plant at Tsatsadu, BPA had initiated processes to replicate the project at Wli Waterfalls at Afegame in the Volta Region.

The CEO said other areas, including some rivers in the Western Region, were being explored for future development.

Mr Dzamesi said the company’s goal was to fully overcome its mounting receivables challenge and transform its business model to establish itself as the leader in renewable energy in the sub-region. 

Wind energy

A member of the board, Dr Rebecca Acquah-Arhin, said the authority was also exploring the possibility of generating wind energy onto the national grid.

In this regard, she said last year, the BPA engaged the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to pilot a 3.6 MWp wind power plant at the Tema Port enclave. 

Dr Acquah-Arhin added that the authority had also commenced a procurement process to engage a credible consultant to undertake feasibility studies on the Pra, Tano and Ankobrah rivers to improve the database for an informed decision on the best technology to deploy and the generation capacities that could be derived from those rivers.

She, however, said that a financial debt overhang brought about by the inability of the Electricity Company of Chana (ECG) to pay for power supplied them remained a key concern.

In spite of the substantial profitability, she said the authority also faced huge liquidity challenges which posed a threat to its operations, especially in the area of maintenance.