The Electricity Supply Industry Local Content and Local Participation Committee has been inaugurated to help promote local participation in the electricity supply industry.

The 11–member committee, which was inaugurated by Mr Joseph Cudjoe, a Deputy Minister of Energy in-charge of Finance and Administration, is under the Chairmanship of Dr Alfred K. Ofosu Ahenkorah, Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission.

Other members of the Committee include; Dr Tony Oteng-Gyasi, representative of the Association of Ghana Industries; Dr S. B. Amposah, representative of Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Solomon Adjetey and Ms Jennifer Brown, both of the Ministry of Energy.

The rest; are Dr Ishmael Ackah, Local Content Coordinator at Energy Commission, Mr Benjamin Effah of the Ghana Grid Company (GRICo), Mr F. K. Nagatey representative of the Ghana Standards Authority, Mr David Ruthven Adzogble, representative of the Ghana Employers Association, Mr Kingsford Laryea, representative of the Ghana Institution of Engineers and Mr Michael Opoku Akurang of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Mr Cudjoe, in his remarks, said government recognised the importance of the implementation of the Local Content Regulations and therefore gave it prominence in the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies.

He said it was his expectation that the Committee would exercise its functions with outmost integrity, professionalism and efficiency to ensure the purpose for which the regulations were developed and achieved.

He said successive governments had implemented local content policies to promote employment, value addition and to enhance the welfare of Ghanaians.

Mr Cudjoe said the local content regulations was aimed at creating linkages, building local industries, and also to ensure employment of Ghanaians and promote value addiction, “local content is government’s strategy to rally the citizens to take advantage of opportunities in the Electricity Supply Industry”.

He said Ghana’s Electricity had seen tremendous since the power sector reforms; stating that the installed generation capacity available for grid power supply at the transmission level in the country since 2010 was doubled; from 2,165 megawatts (MW) in 2010 to about 4,360 MW as of mid-2018.

He said recognising the importance of the implementation of the local content regulations and opportunities in the electricity supply industry, the Energy Commission (Local Content and Local Participation) (Electricity Supply Industry) Regulations, 2017 (L.I 2354) was passed by Parliament into law in 2017.

The objective of the regulations was to achieve about 51 per cent equity participation in wholesale supply and distribution in the electricity supply industry in Ghana and 60 per cent local content, and also develop capacity in the manufacturing industry for electrical cable, conductors, and accessories.

Mr Cudjoe said the Energy Commission initiated some major steps to help them achieve the objectives of the regulations; stating that prominent among them were the issuance of a public notice on the regulations in major newspapers and completion of an electricity industry wide baseline.

He tasked the Committee to exercise its function with outmost integrity, professionalism and efficiency to ensure that the purpose for which the regulations were developed would be achieved.

Mr William Owuraku Aidoo, a Deputy Minister of Energy in-charge of Power, expressed the hope that the Committee would be the game changer in the energy sector.

Dr Ahenkorah, on behalf of his colleagues, lauded the President for the confidence reposed in them and said the Committee would deliver on its mandate, as part of efforts to accelerate Ghana’s socio-economic development.

Madam Anita Lokko, Director of Legal Affairs, Energy Ministry, administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Committee members.