The Millennium Development Authority in partnership with the Energy Commission has inaugurated three Sustainable Energy Service Centres (SESCS) established in three tertiary institutions.
The projects, worth $284,928 would contribute to the reduction of energy consumption through Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management process.
The three SESCS are located at Accra Technical University (ATU), the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR).
It will also ensure that a core of qualified and certified professionals is available in the country to assist public and private institutions, industrial and commercial customers, to adopt and implement cost-effective energy savings measures.
The Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Energy, in a speech read for him said the government would continue to pursue its energy sector objective of a robust and efficient power sector not only for convenience for homes and work place, but also as a catalyst to our industrial agenda in the 21st century.
He commended implementers of the projects, adding that energy conservation was a crucial subject, “like all commodities, power is finite, and it is therefore important to ensure that it is managed in an effective and efficient manner at all levels of the value chain. Done properly, this ensures adequate and available power supply and also provides consumers in particular with significant savings.”
Dr Prempeh said findings of a Study by Development Environergy Services Limited (DESL), the Consultant on the Project, revealed that adopting energy-efficient systems in Ghana would result in over 4000 GWh annual energy savings, representing 30 per cent of Ghana’s current energy demand.
“Additionally, an estimated minimum peak load savings of 500 MW can be achieved with the adoption of energy efficiency behaviours, thereby reducing the need for additional investments in generation capacity. This drives home the essence of energy conservation and provides more than ample justification for the establishment of the SESCs,” he said
MiDA’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Martin Eson-Benjamin said the establishment of the SESCs was part of the Ghana Power Compact Programme’s Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management (EEDSM) Project, funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an Agency of the US Government, and the Government of Ghana.
He said SESCS was the first of the kind in Ghana and had been established to train and certify professionals who would assist organisations to adopt and implement cost-effective energy saving measures in their operations.
Mr Kofi Agyarko, Director, Renewable Energy at the Energy Commission said through collaborations, Ghana had been able to develop 21 standards for electrical appliance and renewable energy protects.
Ms Nicole Chulicks, Deputy Chief of Missions, US Embassy, said the MCC Ghana Power Compact invested $316 million across Ghana to improve power infrastructure, advance energy efficiency programmes, and expand opportunities for women and youth in the power sector.
She said the world was facing a climate crisis, therefore the need to take every step possible to mitigate its effects, including conserving energy and promoting efficient energy consumption by building out Ghana’s energy auditing capacity through projects.
BY AGNES OPOKU SARPONG
