Energy Minister John Jinapor has stressed the urgent need for Ghana to transition to a gas-to-power system to cut costs and improve efficiency in the energy sector.
Speaking during the National Economic Dialogue on Tuesday, March 4, he noted that, the continued reliance on liquid fuel is financially unsustainable and contributes to corruption and wastage.
“Finally, from what I am seeing, we immediately have to move into a gas-to-power era. The liquid fuel bills alone are about $1 billion this year.
“Half of that can build a gas processing plant that will save us about $600 million per annum. And so for me, that is something non-negotiable,” he stated.
According to him, Ghana has significant gas reserves that remain unused, forcing the country to rely on costly liquid fuel imports.
“We have stranded gas that we cannot use, yet we have to buy liquid fuel. We must bring that gas processing plant on and cut the cost. That will also cut corruption and cut the wastage,” he emphasized.
The minister’s remarks come amid concerns over the financial health of Ghana’s energy sector, which is burdened with GH₵80 billion in outstanding liabilities.
Mr Jinapor has warned that without urgent reforms, the sector is at risk of collapse, with power producers already shutting down plants due to non-payment of debts.
Voice of John Jinapor
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