Energy Minister John Jinapor has stressed the urgent need for Ghana to transition to a gas-to-power system to reduce costs and enhance efficiency.
According to him, continued reliance on liquid fuel is financially unsustainable and contributes to wastage and corruption.
The Yapei-Kusawgu MP made the call at the National Economic Dialogue, highlighting the economic benefits of prioritizing gas.
“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.
He noted that despite Ghana’s substantial gas reserves, they remain underutilized, forcing the country to depend on expensive 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.
He further 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.
The minister’s proposal comes amid concerns over the GH₵80 billion financial burden in outstanding liabilities in the energy sector.
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