The acute shortage of electricity supply means Ghanaians have to conserve what is available, the Energy Commission has said -- asking consumers to switch off their deep-freezers and other high-energy-consuming appliances between the hours of 6:00pm and 12:00am.
Through that singular act, a lot of savings can be made to make sure what is available of the power goes round everybody to ensure there are no interruptions in this World Cup season, the commission said.
Deep-freezers are said to consume between 200 and 300 watts of electricity per kilowatt hours, and the commission estimates that if just one million Ghanaians switch off their freezers within the period around 200 megawatts of electricity could be available to reduce the shedding of load.
About 400megawatts of needed power is said to be unavailable due to fuel supply challenges and repair and maintenance works on generating plants.
The commission estimates that refrigeration accounts for more than 54% of electricity consumption in the household sector.
A typical Ghanaian household, according to the commission, consumes 3,000 kilowatts of electricity a year -- on which it spends GH₵540 for that period.
An inefficient refrigerator alone can drain more than half the amount, while the new refrigerators it is promoting can consume less than 500 kilowatts per year and can reduce the refrigerator’s contribution to household consumption to 16%.
Aside from their relatively higher consumption levels, refrigerators are about the only appliance many households leave on for twenty four hours, seven days a week.
The situation is made worse when the majority of average Ghanaian households use energy-inefficient second-hand refrigerating appliances.
The situation can be cured said Dr. Kwabena Donkor, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy: “For example, in my house all freezers are switched off for the night because it doesn’t add anything. If what you have in the freezer is frozen, keeping the freezer on only consumes power; it does not at all add any freezing to it. You can conveniently switch off for twelve hours and it will have no effect because at night you are not opening and closing the freezer.â€
As a people, he said, “We are very energy-inefficient, especially when it comes to power. So there should be a vigorous campaign on how to conserve power so that at least we can also reduce our consumptionâ€.
While sector managers admit that their work is cut out for them in terms of adding to the country’s generation capacity, prudent use of the resource, they argue, is also important.
Kirk Koffi, CEO of the Volta River Authority, said recently that: “There is all indication that not all the electricity we are supplying is being used efficiently. Switch off lights and other gadgets that are not needed. Let’s use electricity wiselyâ€.
The Energy Commission has been seeking a market transformation by promoting the use of energy-efficient appliances, with its latest effort being on getting Ghanaians to desist from using second-hand refrigerators.
Through a rebate scheme, the commission is urging consumers to turn in their second-hand fridges for new ones. Under the scheme, some 4,000 refrigerators have been exchanged so far.
Indeed, to fast-track the scheme, the Commission is considering giving a discount to new buyers alongside those who are exchanging their used fridges for new ones.
The move is based on the rationale that first-time buyers are also tempted to go for second-hand fridges if they find new ones to be beyond their means, the B&FT has learned.
The acute shortage of electricity supply means Ghanaians have to conserve what is available, the Energy Commission has said -- asking consumers to switch off their deep-freezers and other high-energy-consuming appliances between the hours of 6:00pm and 12:00am.
Through that singular act, a lot of savings can be made to make sure what is available of the power goes round everybody to ensure there are no interruptions in this World Cup season, the commission said.
Deep-freezers are said to consume between 200 and 300 watts of electricity per kilowatt hours, and the commission estimates that if just one million Ghanaians switch off their freezers within the period around 200 megawatts of electricity could be available to reduce the shedding of load.
About 400megawatts of needed power is said to be unavailable due to fuel supply challenges and repair and maintenance works on generating plants.
The commission estimates that refrigeration accounts for more than 54% of electricity consumption in the household sector.
A typical Ghanaian household, according to the commission, consumes 3,000 kilowatts of electricity a year -- on which it spends GH₵540 for that period.
An inefficient refrigerator alone can drain more than half the amount, while the new refrigerators it is promoting can consume less than 500 kilowatts per year and can reduce the refrigerator’s contribution to household consumption to 16%.
Aside from their relatively higher consumption levels, refrigerators are about the only appliance many households leave on for twenty four hours, seven days a week.
The situation is made worse when the majority of average Ghanaian households use energy-inefficient second-hand refrigerating appliances.
The situation can be cured said Dr. Kwabena Donkor, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy: “For example, in my house all freezers are switched off for the night because it doesn’t add anything. If what you have in the freezer is frozen, keeping the freezer on only consumes power; it does not at all add any freezing to it. You can conveniently switch off for twelve hours and it will have no effect because at night you are not opening and closing the freezer.â€
As a people, he said, “We are very energy-inefficient, especially when it comes to power. So there should be a vigorous campaign on how to conserve power so that at least we can also reduce our consumptionâ€.
While sector managers admit that their work is cut out for them in terms of adding to the country’s generation capacity, prudent use of the resource, they argue, is also important.
Kirk Koffi, CEO of the Volta River Authority, said recently that: “There is all indication that not all the electricity we are supplying is being used efficiently. Switch off lights and other gadgets that are not needed. Let’s use electricity wiselyâ€.
The Energy Commission has been seeking a market transformation by promoting the use of energy-efficient appliances, with its latest effort being on getting Ghanaians to desist from using second-hand refrigerators.
Through a rebate scheme, the commission is urging consumers to turn in their second-hand fridges for new ones. Under the scheme, some 4,000 refrigerators have been exchanged so far.
Indeed, to fast-track the scheme, the Commission is considering giving a discount to new buyers alongside those who are exchanging their used fridges for new ones.
The move is based on the rationale that first-time buyers are also tempted to go for second-hand fridges if they find new ones to be beyond their means, the B&FT has learned.
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