Investigating Ghana’s energy crisis

Ghana’s energy crisis began last August – and continues today, with estimates that it could cost the country’s economy millions of dollars.

As the winner of the BBC’s NewsMaker competition – I am more usually a teaching assistant at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology – I wanted to investigate the cause and effect of the energy problem.
It has been attributed mainly to the dwindling water levels in the Volta Lake at Ghana’s only hydroelectric plant, Akosombo Hydro.

However, the obsolete and poorly-maintained equipment, used for generations, and the distribution of electrical power in the country, could also be blamed. The country continues to suffer from frequent power cuts.

Recent research by Data Bank, one of Ghana’s leading financial providers, suggests the country could lose up to $1.4 billion by the end of the year if the situation does not improve soon.

And Ghana’s National Labour Department statistics show that about 33 companies filed for insolvency between September 2006 and March 2007 and over 2,300 workers have lost their jobs.

BBC