Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 inaugurated the technology-driven PURC-GIMPA Center of Excellence in Public Utility.

The Regulatory Center of Excellence comes after the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration(GIMPA) and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in February 2023, reached an agreement to set up a center to enhance the capacity and improve the energy sector in Ghana.

Dr Opoku Prempeh, who was a special guest at the program, acknowledged the need for a regulatory center and outlined how it will contribute to Africa's energy development.

“This is both timely and relevant. It is timely because emerging dynamics in the energy sector including the energy transition and energy security concerns require a competent and skillful workforce that is ready to help position Ghana and Africa to secure sustainable outcomes for future generations. My Ministry has already taken the lead in developing and implementing a road map for the energy transition in Ghana. The opening of this Centre will therefore provide the needed support to develop the skills necessary to achieve Africa’s energy vision.

“It is also relevant because, in most cases, Africa has been the consumer of research findings and emerging ideas led or written by researchers who may not have experienced the socio-political landscape of the continent. Given the pedigree of GIMPA and the quality of its faculty members, it is my expectation that the Center will become a thought leader in developing innovative and breakthrough research on utility regulation across the continent and beyond,” the Energy Minister said.

He further urged the officers to make good use of the center by being innovative and finding solutions through research to develop Ghana's economy.

“Take the call to research seriously. You must find innovative and effective ways of collaborating with industry and the corporate world to engage in quality, strategic studies aimed at finding practical solutions to real issues and actualize research findings to develop our economy.”

The GIMPA-PURC Center of Excellence in Public Utility has been established to develop competencies and expertise in economic regulation for the electricity, water, natural gas sectors, and other public utility service sectors.

It will offer courses like Introduction to utility regulation, advanced utility regulation, regulatory economics and modeling, utility management for optimal performance, and others. It is also mandated to award certificates at the end of every programme.

The Executive Secretary of the PURC, Dr. Ishmael Ackah highlighted the importance of the centre and the integral role it will play in developing the energy sector in the country and beyond.

“Usually we travel abroad to learn from best practices to implement. What we fail to realise is that those best practices are based on the realities of those countries. Such realities are usually different from our realities as developing countries. It is therefore imperative that we develop our own benchmarks based on local realities to enhance utility regulation.”

“The Center of Excellence in Public Utility Regulation (CEPUR) will therefore ensure that we develop a human resource base with the requisite skills and competencies going forward,” Dr. Ackah added.