Showing posts with label Akosombo Dam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Akosombo Dam. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
No longer dam-ed
After watching the water levels in the dam decrease for more than a year, I am happy to report it has been inching slowly - but surely - upwards! Today it's actually past the minimum level. I am not sure if all six turbines are now fully functional but it sure is nice to see the figures on the increase. Seems as if we are no longer dam-ed at all. Pardon the pun if you will :D
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
The dammed dam is further dammed!
A post written from Monday that I am just getting around to posting...
So again the dammed dam drama unfolds. Today's headlines in the Daily Graphic scream ' VRA SHUTS DOWN ONE MORE UNIT: To avoid total collapse of Akosombo Power Supply' ! The Ghanaian Times, though less dramatic read: 'VRA, ECG TACKLE ENERGY CRISIS'.
The details left me no less worried " The Volta River Authority (VRA) in consultation with the government, has decided to reduce the units which the Akosombo Dam operates to generate power from three to two units to save the dam from total collapse'. The data looks all too distressing:
- Of the 10, 152 GWh projected as the demand for 2007, only 3,370 GWh is available, that is just a bit over one third of the total demand;
- In a strange reversal of fortunes, Ivory Coast who has promised to supply 200 MW of power to Ghana has now said it's unable to due to 'technical difficulties'; strange in that back in the day Ghana used to export power to Ivory Coast!
Anyway, not to be too negative, there were a number of options the Gov seems to be pursuing with the private sector. Guess we will just have to wait and see what happens. Interestingly, one of the measures taken by the Gov was the purchase of six million energy saving light bulbs for 'easy availability' to consumers.
Ironically in the midst of all this appeal to 'save the dam', we had a really heavy storm on Monday. The rain that we had been hoping for seemed to have finally come, flooding the city, and changing some roads into miniature rivers. One 'short-cut' that I usually take through Ashiaman was blocked, as the water reached up to the window level of cars! Seriously high! Of course the level in the dam dropped even further - today's reading being at 237.60 ft.
Ok, so have been complaining about the dam, but there are also quite some interesting facts, including the fact that by building the dam it created the (then)largest man made lake in the world, Lake Volta. Want more info? Nice article on Ghana Web on the dam see History of Akosombo Dam
So again the dammed dam drama unfolds. Today's headlines in the Daily Graphic scream ' VRA SHUTS DOWN ONE MORE UNIT: To avoid total collapse of Akosombo Power Supply' ! The Ghanaian Times, though less dramatic read: 'VRA, ECG TACKLE ENERGY CRISIS'.
The details left me no less worried " The Volta River Authority (VRA) in consultation with the government, has decided to reduce the units which the Akosombo Dam operates to generate power from three to two units to save the dam from total collapse'. The data looks all too distressing:
- Of the 10, 152 GWh projected as the demand for 2007, only 3,370 GWh is available, that is just a bit over one third of the total demand;
- In a strange reversal of fortunes, Ivory Coast who has promised to supply 200 MW of power to Ghana has now said it's unable to due to 'technical difficulties'; strange in that back in the day Ghana used to export power to Ivory Coast!
Anyway, not to be too negative, there were a number of options the Gov seems to be pursuing with the private sector. Guess we will just have to wait and see what happens. Interestingly, one of the measures taken by the Gov was the purchase of six million energy saving light bulbs for 'easy availability' to consumers.
Ironically in the midst of all this appeal to 'save the dam', we had a really heavy storm on Monday. The rain that we had been hoping for seemed to have finally come, flooding the city, and changing some roads into miniature rivers. One 'short-cut' that I usually take through Ashiaman was blocked, as the water reached up to the window level of cars! Seriously high! Of course the level in the dam dropped even further - today's reading being at 237.60 ft.
Ok, so have been complaining about the dam, but there are also quite some interesting facts, including the fact that by building the dam it created the (then)largest man made lake in the world, Lake Volta. Want more info? Nice article on Ghana Web on the dam see History of Akosombo Dam
Monday, March 26, 2007
Let there be light...or not!
So the inevitable has finally happened. This morning's newspapers confirmed my worst fears - there was a new load shedding plan out!
The new programme is the most drastic taken so far. Instead of having electricity for one 12 hour period every five days, we will now have TWO twelve hour periods every four days! Not to mention the million and one interim, unscheduled power cuts that seem to happen by chance everyday. Seems as if the levels in the damn dam are rapidly falling. Saturday's paper also mentioned the doom and gloom predicted by the Ghana Meteorological Agency of the upcoming rainy season - or rather that it just wasn't coming. Hmmm, if they are like the ones we have in Jamaica then maybe I shouldn't worry too much - after all its usually the opposite of what they predict that comes true.
On a serious note though, and apart from me squealing over my own personal comfort, there are many serious implications given the present combinations of conditions. Most of the agriculture here in Ghana is rain-fed; a drought will have a serious effect on the economy, especially on the hundreds of thousands of small farmers who already barley eek out a living. The effects on industry are already telling, and the immediate prospects for the economy are quite gloomy. Ofcourse the article mentions some solutions being presently pursued, am just tiered of hearing them and right now just want to see them started! It's hard to be patient. Noted that the editorial in the Graphic also mentions the 1983 drought and the harsh conditions that Ghanaians had to go through - hmmm, must find out more.
Have made up my mind, have called in the reinforcements, will get my self a generator! Truth be told, the though of shopping for that fills me with even more dread than the power cuts themselves! More about shopping in Ghana at another time.
DC
The new programme is the most drastic taken so far. Instead of having electricity for one 12 hour period every five days, we will now have TWO twelve hour periods every four days! Not to mention the million and one interim, unscheduled power cuts that seem to happen by chance everyday. Seems as if the levels in the damn dam are rapidly falling. Saturday's paper also mentioned the doom and gloom predicted by the Ghana Meteorological Agency of the upcoming rainy season - or rather that it just wasn't coming. Hmmm, if they are like the ones we have in Jamaica then maybe I shouldn't worry too much - after all its usually the opposite of what they predict that comes true.
On a serious note though, and apart from me squealing over my own personal comfort, there are many serious implications given the present combinations of conditions. Most of the agriculture here in Ghana is rain-fed; a drought will have a serious effect on the economy, especially on the hundreds of thousands of small farmers who already barley eek out a living. The effects on industry are already telling, and the immediate prospects for the economy are quite gloomy. Ofcourse the article mentions some solutions being presently pursued, am just tiered of hearing them and right now just want to see them started! It's hard to be patient. Noted that the editorial in the Graphic also mentions the 1983 drought and the harsh conditions that Ghanaians had to go through - hmmm, must find out more.
Have made up my mind, have called in the reinforcements, will get my self a generator! Truth be told, the though of shopping for that fills me with even more dread than the power cuts themselves! More about shopping in Ghana at another time.
DC
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Power crisis...
There was a song in Jamaica made popular by the (then) famous DJ, King Yellow Man:…power cut a north, power cut a south, everywhere mi look mi sey di power gone out...I keep remembering it more and more these days, given the present power crisis here in Ghana.
When Ashes and I moved in July all was fine for the first month and then the load shedding started! Being a Jamaican, I am of course familiar with the frustrations of that exercise but having been cocooned in the comfort of a European city for the past couple of years, those experiences were happily forgotten. Alas, alas not anymore – back to reality.
It started with the electricity going off once every three days! Of course nearly went mad! Then it ‘improved’ as it then became once in very five days. Lo and behold, it was the week leading up to Ghana@50 and there was the grand announcement that we wouldn’t be having ‘lights off’ for the first two weeks of March! Of course this had nothing to do with the presence of twenty-five Heads of States and countless other dignitaries in the country during this period. Hmmm, and yes, we did have an overnight growth of streetlights along the major roadways.
So today is D-Day – yes, load shedding start again. Was even more worried when I saw the headlines in the Daily Graphic this morning that VALCO, the Volta Aluminum Company would as of tomorrow suspend it’s operations due to inadequate power supply from the Akosombo Dam! Sad for a country that once supplied some of it's fellow West African neighbours with electricity.
Never realized what an effect this was having on my life until I noticed how depressed I got on those days when it was our zone that was to be out. I buy the papers in the morning and hurriedly check the falling levels of the damn dam (today its 238.4 ft) and pray for the rainy season to begin and last until it’s full.
Well, never fear, the article on page 16 reassures me that the test run on the generators that the government has bought to assist in it’s emergency power programme should begin next week.
Yeah.
Right.
When Ashes and I moved in July all was fine for the first month and then the load shedding started! Being a Jamaican, I am of course familiar with the frustrations of that exercise but having been cocooned in the comfort of a European city for the past couple of years, those experiences were happily forgotten. Alas, alas not anymore – back to reality.
It started with the electricity going off once every three days! Of course nearly went mad! Then it ‘improved’ as it then became once in very five days. Lo and behold, it was the week leading up to Ghana@50 and there was the grand announcement that we wouldn’t be having ‘lights off’ for the first two weeks of March! Of course this had nothing to do with the presence of twenty-five Heads of States and countless other dignitaries in the country during this period. Hmmm, and yes, we did have an overnight growth of streetlights along the major roadways.
So today is D-Day – yes, load shedding start again. Was even more worried when I saw the headlines in the Daily Graphic this morning that VALCO, the Volta Aluminum Company would as of tomorrow suspend it’s operations due to inadequate power supply from the Akosombo Dam! Sad for a country that once supplied some of it's fellow West African neighbours with electricity.
Never realized what an effect this was having on my life until I noticed how depressed I got on those days when it was our zone that was to be out. I buy the papers in the morning and hurriedly check the falling levels of the damn dam (today its 238.4 ft) and pray for the rainy season to begin and last until it’s full.
Well, never fear, the article on page 16 reassures me that the test run on the generators that the government has bought to assist in it’s emergency power programme should begin next week.
Yeah.
Right.
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