Explaining that the move was not to deprive people of their daily bread, he said it would rather make the country a safe haven for doing business.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the commission’s 25th anniversary thanksgiving service in Accra last Friday, Mr Amonoo-Neizer said the commission would embark on further stakeholder engagement to ensure that all stakeholders were on the same wavelength. 

The Energy Commission, in a statement issued on January 27, 2023, said per its mandate under Act 541, it had caused Parliament to pass 19 laws to regulate the markets for electrical appliances and renewable energy projects.

It said the purpose of the new regulations were also to reduce electricity demand and cost; protect the environment and safeguard the health of citizens from air pollution caused by increased power generation, and protect consumers from purchasing unsuitable appliances as well as paying unnecessarily high electricity bills.

However, some trader associations protested the ban, saying that it would push their members out of business.

Engagement

Reacting to the concerns, Mr Amonoo-Neizer said the commission would deepen engagement to bring people in line with the benefits of the ban.

“We intend to engage more of the stakeholders who are affected in a way to come to terms with where we are coming from.

“The move is not to deprive people of their daily bread but the drive is to bring more efficient appliances so we do not become a dumping site which will become a burden on consumers”, he said. 

Anniversary  

The commission, which was established in  December 1997, organised the thanksgiving service to thank God for guiding the commission in its work for the past 25 years and to ask for more strength, insight, foresight, direction, divine protection in the coming years.

Dedicated staff, both retired and those in active service, were rewarded for their contribution to the growth of the commission.

Achievements

Highlighting some of the commission’s milestones, Mr Amonoo-Neizer noted that its Refrigerator Exchange Programme, which encouraged the surrendering of used, old refrigerators in exchange for a discount on new ones, and the passage of the Renewable Energy Act, 2011 (Act 832), which gave the commission the mandate to establish and regulate a renewable energy market in Ghana, had yielded positive results. 

He added that the establishment of a Capital Subsidy Scheme under which free solar panels up to a maximum capacity of 500 Watts peak were provided to over 1,000 households in urban centres and the electrification of 200 households in 18 off-grid rural communities in the Kwahu East and South districts in the Eastern Region, with solar home systems under the National Rooftop Solar Programme were also worth mentioning. 

The commission, he said, had also licensed over 300 service providers for the wholesale supply, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity and natural gas; importation, installation and maintenance of renewable energy products and systems, and exportation of renewable energy products.

Gratitude 

Mr Amonoo-Neizer expressed gratitude to past and present board chairmen and board members, as well as executive secretaries and staff, for their dedication and commitment towards the commission’s mandate. 

He said in next 25 years, the commission would take the enforcement of laws a notch higher while making the country a haven for people to do business. 

“We wish to work together in the coming years to build a robust and sustainable energy sector that we can all be proud of,” he added.