The Senior Staff Association of the Volta River Authority (VRA) has expressed cautious optimism following the Ministry of Energy’s request for Parliament to suspend the contentious Ghana Hydro Authority Bill.
This request by the Energy Minister comes amid significant pushback from critical stakeholders, especially senior staff members at the VRA, who have voiced strong objections to the proposed changes.
Other legislative proposals currently under review include Ghana Thermal Authority Bill, 2024, Ghana Hydro Authority Bill, 2024, Ghana Power Distribution Authority Bill, 2024, Ghana Energy Regulatory Authority Bill, 2024.
The proposed legislation seeks to restructure Ghana’s energy sector by merging the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) with the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) and creating an independent thermal power authority from the thermal assets of the VRA.
While the association welcomes the temporary halt, it firmly believes that a complete withdrawal of the bill, rather than merely a suspension, is the only acceptable solution.
Theophilus Tetteh Ahia, Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of the VRA, articulated these concerns during an interview on Eyewitness News with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Citi FM.
“Our request to the minister and the president is a total withdrawal of this bill because it will not benefit the people of Ghana as we have been saying.”
He stressed that the proposed bill would bring more harm than good to the people of Ghana, underscoring the association’s long-standing objections to the legislation.
Mr. Ahia noted that suspending the bill, while a positive step, is not enough to mitigate the risks posed by its eventual passage.
The association’s chairman explained that merging the VRA’s thermal plants with those of the Bui Power Authority and other entities would severely undermine Ghana’s national security infrastructure.
He cautioned that stripping the VRA of its thermal assets, which collectively produce over 1,400 megawatts of power, could create significant vulnerabilities within the energy sector
“The bill is not the best and we [VRA] is an authority and Bui is also doing very well and they are the first to do floating solar and so if we join Bui, we are going to stifle their development.
“If you do that, you will weaken the national security of this country because Bui is only 400 megawatts and VRA’s thermal assert is over 1,400 megawatts and so if you take that and give it to a private investor, eventually, the cost per kilowatt hour is going to go up because, as we speak, the VRA, in terms of thermal cost to that of the IPPs is the cheapest in this country.”
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