Tariff Increment Will Inure To Our Benefit In The Not Too Distant Future � Felix Kwakye Ofosu

Felix Kwakye Ofosu, a Deputy Minister of Information has stated that the increment in electricity tariffs would inure to the benefit of Ghanaians in the long run. Speaking on Metro TV during discussions over the statement issued by the Finance Minister, Seth Tekper, on the performance of Ghana�s economy and the 2014 budget, Kwakye-Ofosu reiterated the fact that the country�s economy suffered setbacks early this year due to the erratic power supply. According to him, �we are at a stage in our development where we require additional generation capacity in order that we avoid the energy crisis which has also led to a slowdown in economic activities in the first part of this year�.therefore, government�s priority now is to achieve optimum generation capacity�. �Indeed, in 2016, we envisage that we will hit the 5000 megawatts generation capacity mark, which would then take us out of this technical 3 to 4 years energy crisis which has its own effects on the economy�. The deputy Information Minister further explained that the government was confronted with the issue of whether to transfer the cost of producing electricity to the citizenry or investing in generation capacity, but settled on investing in generation capacity. ��in the long run, because of the share size of the generation capacity, we would be able to beat down the generation cost, which would then translate into the low cost or the tariffs that would come out of it,� he said. Felix Kwakye Ofosu also stated that there are ongoing investments that are exploring cheaper sources of generation. He cited the gas processing plant at Atuoabo, in the Western Region as an example and claimed that when that is completed, �it is going to afford us cheaper gas that would then go into the production of electricity. Once that happens, you would find out that naturally, the production cost would fall and translate into much cheaper tariffs�.