The Karpower barge from Turkey to augment Ghana’s electricity supply situation has arrived in neighboring Ivory Coast.
Joy News has learnt the 225 megawatts power plant would be taken off the vessel on which it has been traveling and towed into Ghana by tugboats in the course of the week.
The arrival in Ivory Coast marks the first leg of the barge’s journey to Ghana where it is expected to add 225 megawatts of electricity to the current stock.
Officials explain the barge will have to be taken off the marine vessel, the Black Marlin before it can be towed to Ghana.
The operation however has to be conducted in special deep-water port facilities, available in Ivory Coast.
The barge is expected to finally dock in Ghana on November 27 after which it will take about a week for its power to be fed into the national grid. It will source its own fuel for power generation even though government is expected to provide assurances that it will be paid for the electricity Karpowership supplies.
The fuel guarantee, Joy News sources say is still in the works and should be concluded sometime this week.
The barge was originally thought of as an emergency solution to the energy crisis, but coming nearly four years into the energy draught, many have suggested the relatively high cost of the electricity it will supply is a needless burden on the consumer who will be made to pay.
The Power Minister and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission have already impressed on consumers the need for them to prepare to pay higher tariffs if the energy crisis is to be resolved.
