A book that breaks down the intricacies of Ghana’s energy policy and laws, has been launched with a focus on providing clarity on the country’s energy sector.
The book, first of its kind in the country authored by the Head of the GIMPA Law Faculty and a former Attorney of the Ghana Grid Company, Lom Nuku Ahlijah, hopes to provide industry players with a good appreciation of the challenges in the energy sector and practicable solutions to dealing with them.
Some power sector challenges highlighted in the book include intermittent power outages also called ‘dumsor’, power generation and consumption in the country, procurement of power as well as transmission and distribution of power.
“I’ve tried as much as possible to write in very simple, straightforward language, breaking down the various components of the energy sector so anybody who picks the book can read and understand how the sector works and how it impacts our lives,” author of the book, Lom Ahlijah told Citi News.
The book also highlights the country’s policy framework guiding plans of attaining net-zero energy-related carbon emissions by 2060.
Providing a review for the book, former Director of the Volta River Authority, Ing. Kirk Koffie said the book will provide critical understanding of the key energy sector challenges Ghana faces and how to tackle them.
“There’s a lot of work to do in the energy sector and this book will help us understand what it takes, and it will also make us appreciate the challenges we have in the energy sector, Today, the energy sector is confronted with so many challenges. We have a lot of generation, yet still we can’t pay the IPPs, or pay for the gas that we buy for the generation because we don’t appreciate the problems. If we appreciate the problems, we’ll make sure that whatever we take we are able to pay for it,” he noted.
Some dignitaries present at the book launch included former officials from various energy sector entities including the Ghana Grid Company Limited, Chairman of the governing board of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Mr. Piesie Kofi Asante and other faculty members of the GIMPA law school.
In his closing remarks, Piesie Kofi Asante highlighted the importance of the book at this time and took the opportunity to call on the government to take advantage of the GIMPA Centre established in collaboration with the Association of Former International Civil Servants, which is able to provide critical expertise in the drafting and negotiation of international business contracts including in the power sector.
