US government announces completion of $316m energy infrastructure in Ghana
The US government has announced the completion of a $316 million investment in energy infrastructure in Ghana.
According to a press release copied to Ghana Business News, the Kasoa Bulk Supply Point (BSP), inaugurated Wednesday June 1, 2022, completed over six years is to support more reliable power supply for hundreds of thousands of schools, hospitals, offices, and homes in Ghana.
“The US government funded the $50 million power substation as part of the MCC-Ghana Power Compact,” the release said.
“With the inauguration of the Kasoa Bulk Supply Point here, we mark the successful completion of the MCC Ghana Power Compact. This was a nearly six-year, $316 million commitment by the American people to improve Ghana’s energy infrastructure and support long-term economic growth,” said Nicole Chulick, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Accra.
The release further indicates that the Kasoa BSP is now the second largest-capacity BSP in Ghana. The 435-megavolt ampere (MVA) gas-insulated power substation will serve 250,000 ECG customers. It will also reduce technical losses in the power transmission and distribution system, contributing to the financial viability of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) in the long term.
The $316 million MCC Ghana Power Compact invested in new power infrastructure and reforms to provide more reliable, affordable electricity to Ghanaians. It also supported programmes designed to improve energy efficiency and expand opportunities for women in the power sector. Ghana’s Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) implemented the partnership with the Government of Ghana, it added.
The release explains that the MCC Ghana Power Compact successfully improved the country’s power sector through the construction of four power substations: the Pokuase BSP, the Kasoa BSP, the University of Ghana Medical Center Primary Substation at Legon, and the Ellen Moran Primary Substation at Kanda. These new power substations directly serve the 37 Military Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital, University of Ghana Medical Center, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the National Mosque, and over 800,000 utility customers. Compact projects upgraded the power system in 10 markets in Accra and Tamale, it says.
“Under the compact, ECG has also developed two new information technology systems: the Geographic Information System (GIS) and Multimeter Management System (MMS), to modernize the utility and help reduce commercial losses,” the release said.