Ghana Sets New 2016 Target for Universal Access to Electricity

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Following its initial 2020 target, Ghana's government is aiming to bring its population universal access to electricity by 2016. A representative from the Ministry of Energy said that the project was moving faster than originally anticipated.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Edward Bawa, the public relations officer for the ministry, said that the revised target date will be placed under a different program, and the original self-help electrification program (SHEP) will be cancelled. The government will carry the costs of bringing electricity to areas that do not have it, he said.

The government will give rural areas more access to modern forms of energy through its own funding and concessionary loans. Under the SHEP, communities were required to be within 20 kilometers of a source town, procure all low-voltage poles, and wire at least 30% of houses in the community before the government would move in to provide electricity.

Since 2009, a total of 2,242 communities have been connected to the national grid under the SHEP. The government is updating the access rate, which it says should now be more than 72%.

Comparing the access rate of all the regions in the country, the three northern regions have the lowest coverage. To improve this situation, 1,400 communities in the three regions are being connected to the national grid at a cost of $300 million.

The cabinet has approved the national street lighting policy, and the sector minister has started mounting streetlights in newly created districts. The policy seeks to provide street lighting in regional, metropolitan, municipal and district capitals. After the ministry has mounted the streetlights, the local bodies will cater for maintenance and the paying of bills.

Since 2009, the government has undertaken 9,536 solar system installations in deprived, off-grid communities under a solar electrification program.

The solar systems provide basic power for vaccine refrigeration and equipment, including radios, computers, mobile phones and television sets. So far, about 80 districts have benefited from this program.

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