…but Gov?t says there?s a way out
The West Africa Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) has once again failed to meet the deadline for resumption of gas supply to Ghana, but Government says it is putting in place other measures, albeit costly, to bring the power-rationing to an end by this week as promised.
On Monday, April 29, WAPCo told journalists that its schedule has slipped due to contractual challenges and defects with machines cleaning the pipeline. As such, the company said it could not meet the April 30 deadline it had given for the resumption of gas supply to Ghana.
The company had previously given December 25, 2012 as deadline for the resumption of gas supply when the gas pipeline was damaged in Togolese waters on August 28, 2012.
WAPCo?s Managing Director Charles Adeniji did not set a new date for the flow of gas, except to say that ?we are getting very close to the end?.
The pipeline is being dried to make way for the gas, he said.
?This week, we will get an idea of how wet the line is. When we get this measurement we will put it into a simulation model, which will give us an idea of how long the drying will last.?
Missing the deadline has not gone down well with the Energy Ministry, which said it had noted the situation with grave concern.
?The Ministry wishes to state very strongly its disappointment at the turn of events, particularly as this is not the first time WAPCo is failing to deliver on its promise of resuming gas transportation to Ghana since the damage to the gas pipeline on August 28, 2012.?
The statement, signed by the Ministry?s Head of Communications, Edward Bawa, said President Mahama will be inaugurating one of the units of the Bui project on May 3, 2013, to bring 133 megawatts of electricity on board.
The 133 megawatts plus the coming on-stream of 132 megawatts from the Takoradi 3 Power Plant should restore the 200 megawats that was taken off Sunon Asogli as a result of the gas problem, the statement said.
?The Ministry can therefore state that based on our current peak load demand and available generation capacity, the load management programme should end by the first week of May 2013 as promised by the President of the Republic.?
The Ministry said, however, that there is a huge cost to pay due to crude oil purchase for power generation. Government spends at least US$50million every 20 days to purchase light crude for power generation by the Volta River Authority, the statement reminded the public.
According to the VRA, the country will currently need some 300 million standard cubic feet of gas a day, none of which is currently available, to replace the use of crude oil in thermal power generation.
Gas demand is expected to triple by the year 2020, for which reason Dr. Kwabena Donkor, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, has said Government should consider importing Liquefied Natural Gas instead of relying on WAPCo.
By Basiru ADAM
