The Utility Regulator, the PURC has hosted African Utility Regulators and regulatory experts as part of its Peer Review Learning of African Electricity Regulators.
As part of its week-long programme, the PURC held a forum themed, “The Regulator in the Era of Economic Turbulence and the Energy Transition: Lessons from the Past and a Guide for the Future.” The keynote speaker for the forum, Mr. William Shonibare, who works at the African Development Bank as Director of Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation, emphasised that for Energy Transition to work well, more investment is needed in national grids to enable such systems to be effectively integrated with renewable energy sources. “We need to have power system flexibility so that as we integrate renewables, we have a base load to anchor the renewables. Therefore, investment across the entire value chain, particularly in transmission, will be as important as boosting the generation,” Mr. Shonibare noted.
Executive Secretary of PURC, Dr. Ishmael Ackah stated that, “Energy Transition is important, not because it is a global agenda, but because it provides an environmental and economic advantage so, regulators can bring down utility tariffs. Including more renewables means achieving an optimal energy mix that improves power affordability and availability.”
In his remarks, the Hon. William Owuraku-Aidoo referenced Ghana’s Energy Transition Framework 2020 – 2070, to ensure that Ghana is guided on a path to sustainable transition saying, “we are serious about it, and have given up to 50 years to enable us exploit all of Ghana’s God-given resources.”
Also present at the event was a cross-section of players in the energy sector, including representatives from GRIDCo.
