Energy today has assumed many dimensions with regards production, consumption and distribution.
During initial stages, electric power produced from hydro seemed to satisfy demands especially at moments that consumption patterns at domestic levels was predictive whilst production lines were the ones to work into.
Currently the distribution stands at 21% for hydro, and 79% for thermal, geo thermal which is not common in many economies, solar and nuclear…
Talk of the first hydro plant, that was in Canada, followed by US, Russia,the Ithapu in South America and China now leading with 42 gigawatts or 42000 megawatts of power from the Yangtse river.
Ghana has experienced four major seasons of load shedding…
First during Kutu Acheamoongs time, second 1983 which okayed in 1984 when I was brought to live in Kanda Estates, third 1998; and recently in 2013.
There are two sides to these occurrences, which are , demand for electric power, and supply for same.
But issue is …..why do we fall in such situations?
There happens to be a standard system with regards industrialisation if a country must go forward on that trail….
South Africa produces, 26,000 mw of power, 29,000 mw for Singapore with Ghana doing not more than 2,200mw of power.
It is clear that the road to industry as Ghana seems to push even at growth stage is still a journey from an ideal state holding other factors in the chain of power production to be constant.
The quest for affluence and fast varying consumption patterns at a time that Ghana has inched towards middle class status also explains the trend.
Status symbols, such as digital tv’s, wash machines, decoders, air conditioners, smart mobile phones , hand dryers, micro waves and few others have now taken centre stage of the average Ghanaian’s consumption pattern.
Such appliances used to be the preserve of the few elites we heard of some three decades back….
Maybe unknown to the energy planners in Ghana, there are key products whose introduction creates major change in consumption of energy
Mobile phones
Microwaves
Digital Tvs
Digital Decoders and
Acs I identify to be the key range of products that almost all middle class, sub middle class, and some economy class use today
These in my estimation are just gadgets that offers convenience whichever way yu view it .
In 2017, Ghana shall switch to digital broadcast.
This requires either purchase of a digital tv or a top box converter with an UGH antenna which consumes an average of
35watts per unit.
Preamble,……
1000watts = 1 kilowatt
1000 kilowatts= 1 megawatt
If we put households that will grab top box converters at 3 million given the fact that a lot of urban dwellers own digital tvs, who may not necessarily buy these, then, it puts a needed electrical power suplement at approximately, 100 megawatts…..
Has the ministry of energy, VRA, Energy commission, and other allied institutions planned such eventuality…
Yu can share your thoughts
Writer
Victor Amartey.
