The Karpower barge from Turkey to augment Ghana’s energy would not eliminate the load shedding Ghana was currently experiencing, the Minister of Power Dr Kwabena Donkor has revealed.
Dr Donkor who led government delegation to inspect the Kar Powership at the Tema Fishing Habour on Saturday, November 25, 2015 where the vessel docked cautioned the media not to be fixated on the barge as an automatic solution to the electricity supply crises.
"It is not the total solution in the chain, but rather when the 250 AMERI Plant as well as the Asogli expansion expected to add 350 mw, the 220 Kpone Thermal and the 120mw TICO expansion, if these additions come on stream, then only can we say load shedding would end", Dr Donkor said.
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It will source its own fuel for power generation even though government is expected to provide assurances that it will be paid for the electricity Karpowership supplies.
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The barge was originally thought of as an emergency solution to the energy crisis, but coming nearly four years into the energy draught, many have suggested the relatively high cost of the electricity it will supply is a needless burden on the consumer who will be made to pay.
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The Karpowership, Ayselsul Suntan, would in the ensuing days be hooked to the Ghana Grid Company’s (GRIDCo) Smelter II station at Tema, ahead of a test run to be conducted on the facility to pave way for power production.
Meanwhile, officials of GRIDCo have completed work on the transmission lines which have since been hooked to the Smelter Station, awaiting to further hook the lines to the gantry on the powership.