291 Views Posted on 02-Sep-2010 under Health

By Evans Okai Darko
Energy crisis still confront and serve as serious threat to the Ghanaian industries and the citizens.
The country suffered a serious energy crisis in early 2000 where industries and the domestic energy users had to tolerate what they called “ low schedule exercise”.
The Energy Commission and the Energy Foundation have however, called on the citizens of Ghana to conserve energy for the benefit of the country and its industries.
Speaking at the launch of Energy Efficiency and Conservation programme in Accra, Dr. Ernest A. Asare, the Executive Director Energy Foundation said lots of mechanisms have been put in place to ensure effective energy usage.
Among them, he said were educative programmes in the media concerning energy conservation, by using the jingles in the radio, newspaper advertisement and television interviews in discussing energy efficiency concept, method of using the various appliances.
He said the foundation has visited a lot of places in almost all the ten regions in Ghana with its educative programmes on energy conservation.
He said, study has shown that many people some areas especially those in the Western, Brong Ahafo and the Volta regions have low level of education as far as energy consumption is concerned.
Also energy efficiency implementation programmes in tertiary institutions that started in the University of Ghana led to 50% reduction of the total bill of the institution.
This eventually leveled to 30% of the previous electricity bill of the institution.
This according to him indicates the importance of energy conservation.
Dr. Asare further advised the citizens to learn to read their meters.
Currently, he stated among other things that Ghana is operating a mandatory appliance standard and labeling regime under which importers and retailers of room air-conditioners and compact Florescence lamps (CFL) are required to import products that meet the minimum efficiency and performance standards approved by the Ghana Standard Board.
The Energy efficiency standards and labels programme is designed to ensure that only appliances that meet minimum energy efficiency standards enter into the Ghanaian market in accordance with the provision of the energy efficiency standards and labeling (non-ducted Air-Conditioners and Self Ballasted Florescence Lamps)
It is mandatory for the sellers of the energy appliances display a label that indicates the energy efficiency rating on the products before the first retail sale.
He observed that many consumers in Ghana purchase air-Conditioners and other high energy consuming appliances, without considering the cost of the use of the appliances.
Many manufacturers export products which are sub-standards to Ghana and many Ghanaians patronise them without idea of how much it will cost them to operate the appliances.
The Energy Commission in its series of campaign against the wastage of energy met with importers of second-hand fridges in the country to discuss with them what had necessitated the government to ban the importation of the second-hand fridges.
The importers of the second-hand fridges did no take it easy with the commission.
The Government has taken a decision to ban the importation of second-fridges for some several reasons but the importers were with the view that this could bring a lot of hardships to the people will make the unemployment population rise up as well.
They opted that the government should rather give them the specification of fridges that should be brought into the country in order to keep the larger people in business.