The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has vowed to establish a dependable and efficient power system to support his proposed 24-hour economy policy if elected president.
This policy aims to create a business environment where services and operations are available to consumers around the clock, boosting economic growth and increasing productivity.
During a speech to energy sector stakeholders in Accra, Mahama reiterated his commitment to expanding clean energy as part of a comprehensive energy transition plan.
He said his administration would align power generation with projected demand and address reserve requirements to ensure a stable and uninterrupted power supply.
Mahama also pledged to raise the share of clean energy in the national power generation mix to 10%, utilizing fiscal and regulatory incentives.
He further promised to introduce a time-of-use tariff system, providing businesses with affordable and consistent power to support continuous operations throughout the day and night.
In addition, Mahama committed to transparent management of ESLA (Energy Sector Levies Act) revenues and strict adherence to the cash waterfall mechanism to ensure accountability in the energy sector. He also vowed to partner with local entrepreneurs to reduce technical and commercial losses in the energy system, thereby improving overall efficiency and reliability.
He said, “We will systematically match generation with forecasted demand and address reserve requirements. The new administration will increase clean energy consumption in line with our energy transition agenda and provide the necessary fiscal and regulatory incentives to attain a 10% share of non-hydro renewable energy in our generation mix.
“Other key interventions would include the implementation of a time of use time to provide affordable and stable electric power for businesses to operate around the clock.”
“Another would be to transparently manage the ESLA revenues and strictly adhere to the principles of the cash waterfall mechanism, significantly reduce technical distribution and commercial losses in the energy sector, in partnership with local entrepreneurs to make budgetary provision for payment of power consumed by government agencies and ensure prompt releases of that revenue.”