Jonathan Amoako-Baah, CEO of Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), talks to The Energy Year about how the company has ensured the continuation of its operations and how local suppliers can benefit from the current downturn. GRIDCo is a transmission asset owner and system operator in Ghana’s power sector.
Has there been any disruption in GRIDCo’s existing developments due to the pandemic?
All our development plans are going on as we speak. We are not travelling, but we have the benefit of technology. In May, we had a meeting with the steering committee on our planned collaboration with Siemens to address the country’s energy and infrastructure challenges. Our technical people are working with Siemens in the background to come up with specifications and everything else needed to bring this collaboration to fruition.
Do you foresee a slowdown in new projects going forward?
I think there will be a slowdown. Orders are not going to be met right now, but when the lockdown is lifted, things will get back to normal. I think we will have less new physical infrastructure and we will renew old infrastructure. Meanwhile, developments will shift more towards the use of technology. We realised we can work without our people being present. We will use systems like the smart grid, where you don’t need human intervention to take action.
How can local suppliers benefit from this downturn?
This period is surely an opportunity for local industry players to come up but it will take some time, as they will need to revamp their systems to provide the volume of supplies that is required. At the moment, I don’t think the domestic industry has that level of sophistication, but as time goes on and Covid-19 passes by, local companies will come up with the innovation that is needed to supply operations.
How confident are you about Ghana emerging out of this crisis stronger?
I think Ghana will come out stronger. Most of our power systems are very small, so the impact on these operations is not very huge. What we need to do is work collaboratively to upgrade and extend Ghana’s transmission infrastructure, and revamp whatever we have. I can foresee that we won’t lose many things. Our economy has been very resilient since Covid-19 started and it will continue to be able to cope with the challenges stemming from the crisis. There has been an impact, but business will bounce back to normal. Investors are free to come and invest, and we have a very strong economy.
Narvin Salick, district manager of Gyrodata Trinidad, talks to The Energy Year about how the company has been impacted by… Read More
Billy Lacobie, CABGOC’s managing director for Southern Africa, talks to The Energy Year about recent strategic and operational developments in… Read More
Angola is working hard to increase its power generation capacity by boosting hydro and solar energy, as well as linking… Read More
Jasem Al Nouri, deputy managing director of Nouri Industrial Establishment, talks to The Energy Year about the company’s long-standing commitment… Read More
Domingos Augusto, CEO of Sonamet, talks to The Energy Year about the company’s performance in 2023, its key projects for… Read More
Manuel António Tiago Dias, governor of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), talks to The Energy Year about the bank’s… Read More
This website uses cookies.