Zambian Energy Board understudies NPA's operations

A seven-member delegation from the Energy Regulatory Board of Zambia has paid a three-day working visit to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to understudy the Authority's operations in the regulation of the petroleum downstream industry.

The team, led by Ezra Siamasumo, came to have a better insight into the Unified Price Petroleum Fund (UPPF), fuel marking, electronic cargo tracking, among others, from September 18 to 20, 2024.

Tour

As part of the working visit,  the delegation was taken to the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Tema depot, an oil marketing company, and a fully automated retail outlet to have hands-on experience of their operations.

Mr Siamasumo expressed appreciation to the NPA for accepting the request to understudy Ghana’s downstream industry and their readiness to replicate the UPPF in Zambia.  

He affirmed the commitment of Zambia's Energy Board to continue its collaboration in the petroleum sector with Ghana.

Ready to share

Welcoming the delegation on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer of NPA, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, a Deputy Chief Executive of the Authority, Linda Boamah Asante, expressed profound appreciation to the Zambian Energy Board for their continuous engagement with the NPA .

She called for more of such learning collaborations and stressed that the doors of the NPA were always open and ready to assist  its neighbours in such corporate exchanges.

NPA’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Maria Edith Oquaye, also  assured the visitors of  the host’s readiness to share  experiences with other African countries for the good of the continent.

She said the collaboration between countries was critical now, especially for the NPA, as a regulator of the energy industry, and indicated that Ghana now exported petroleum products to neighbouring countries like Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire and Togo.

UPPF brief

Taking the visitors through the UPPF, the Coordinator, Jacob Amuah, explained that the UPPF was essentially a fund set up by the government or a regulatory body to ensure uniformity in fuel prices across various parts of the country, underscoring the important role it played in the petroleum downstream industry in Ghana.

He said fuel prices directly affected nearly every sector of the economy, from food prices to transportation and manufacturing.

Mr Amuah said fluctuations in fuel costs could  cause widespread economic disruptions; hence, by maintaining uniform prices across the country, the UPPF had curtailed regional disparities, stabilised inflation and encouraged economic growth,

He said the UPPF was a crucial mechanism in the petroleum industry of many nations, aimed at stabilising fuel prices across different regions.

Citing the northern part of Ghana as an example, Mr Amuah noted that but for the implementation of the UPPF, consumers in the north would have paid more for the petroleum products than those in the south due to longer distances from the refinery.

“However, the fund compensates for the difference, allowing the price at the pump to remain the same in more accessible areas.