Energy Ministry To Give Free LED Bulbs

The Ministry of Energy is set to distribute over one hundred million pieces of Light Emitting Diodes, (LED) bulbs to institutions and homes across the country.

The GH¢200 million project is part of efforts by the government to promote a shift from the use of incandescent and CFL bulbs to LED bulbs.

The gesture is in accordance with government’s policy decision to encourage efficient use of energy in view of the increasing cost of electricity generation.

Speaking to journalists in Accra, Energy Minister, John Peter Amewu disclosed that the Ministry intends to embark on a nationwide energy conservation approach.

He said that the project, aims at targeting particularly homes and strategic institutions such as Hospitals, Schools, Police Service, Prisons and Universities that consume so much in terms of their power.

The Energy Minister indicated the energy consumption of the target beneficiaries account to almost more than half of the national electricity demand.

He stated that the led bulbs are efficient and cost reflective in terms of the consumption, adding that estimates have put the consumption between 30 to 40 present half the price of the incandescent demand.

“The Ministry of Energy as part of its efforts is to supply the lamps free of charge and intend to release the bulbs to the citizenry through all the Metropolitan and Municipal District Assemblies (MMDAs) for onward distribution to consumers in their respective jurisdictions” the Energy Minister noted.

He added that the first phase of the project would see the distribution of 50,000, 40,000 and 30,000 LED bulbs each to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies respectively in 6, 9, and 13 wattages.

This he said, would make the customers pay less in terms of their energy consumption and indirectly put money in their pockets.

Mr. Amewu was sure that a comprehensive audit would be conducted by the relevant government agencies to ensure that the projects achieves its intended purpose.

Meanwhile, the minster had indicated that the recent intermittent power outages in the country have come to an end.

His assurance comes after the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited’s (WAPCo) successful completion of the cleaning and inspection of its 20 feet offshore pipeline from Badagry in Nigeria to Takoradi in Ghana.

The internal inspection of the 569km offshore pipeline was completed last week; almost one month ahead of the scheduled completion date of March 20, 2020.

The cleaning and inspection exercise triggered pockets of power outages following the shutdown of WAPCo’s pipeline.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to providing constant power supply.