President inaugurates PURC Board
President John Dramani Mahama yesterday inaugurated a new board for the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission ( PURC) and charged it to create an environment that will attract the private sector to invest in power generation.
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He said the private sector would only put in their money in power generation when they saw a conducive environment that could bring them the needed returns.
The nine-member board is chaired by Mr Emmanuel Annan, who also chaired the previous board.
The other members of the board are: Mr Daniel Owusu Koranteng, representing the Trades Union Congress; Dr Yaw Adu-Agyei Gyamfi, representing the Association of Ghana Industries; Dr Ferdinand D. Tay, domestic consumers’ representative, and Mr David Kwadzo Ametefe, the government’s nominee.
The rest are: Mr Stephen Akuoko, Major Albert Don Chebe (retd), and Mr Samuel Adetola, all government nominees; and Mr Samuel Kwadwo Sarpong, Executive Secretary of PURC.
Critical institution
President Mahama said the PURC was a critical institution in the development of the power, energy and water sectors.
That was because as the regulator, it created the enabling environment for all the actors in the sector to deliver the expected quality services.
He said the country was entering into a new era with regard to the energy and power sectors, especially with the creation of a new Ministry of Power.
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That, coupled with the emerging interest of the private sector in the energy and power sector, had made it necessary for all players in the energy and power sectors to work extra hard to meet the expected goals.
"And so a lot rests on your shoulders; whether we can achieve our objective of becoming the power hub of West Africa, which is the vision of the government," the President told the PURC Board members.
He further asked them to ascertain how power could be produced at the most efficient price possible.
Diversification
Mr Mahama said the government was encouraging the diversification of power sources, with its focus being on solar and cola-fired thermal generation.
He said the Energy Commission would work with the PURC to see how to explore the use of stand-alone solar generators because domestic consumers used the bulk of power generated in Ghana.
President Mahama also touched on water and said the government's investment in the sector would soon start bearing fruits, especially in Accra.
Board Chairman
The board chairman assured the president that they would work assiduously to enable the nation reap the expected benefits.