The Energy Commission is working in collaboration with the Ghana Standards Authority to rollout the electrical accessories regulation by next year, Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah has said.
He said the regulation will ensure that items including sockets, light bulbs, and extension cables and wiring materials are of high quality.
“We are very much concerned about recent developments regarding the low standard of products in the Ghanaian market and we are in partnership with the Standard Authority to regulate this from next year,” Dr. Ahenkorah told the Goldstreet Business at the 20th edition launch of the Commission in Accra.
Disclosing the timeline of enforcement of the regulation, Dr. Ahenkorah said; “the draft regulation is ready, we’ll send it to the sector ministry [Ministry of Energy] before the end of the year, follow it through the Attorney General’s Office and later to Parliament where we expect it to be passed into law by next year.”
He indicated that the Commission’s renewed focus centers on renewable energy, with wood fuel, playing an integral part.
In Ghana, wood fuel contributes about 40 percent of energy used especially in homes and for other industrial activities.
“After 20 years of existence, we want to recommit to the sustainable use of wood fuel and to ensure that our environment is not destroyed. We are already doing a lot in supporting the use of wood fuel stoves,” he said.
Deputy Energy Minister in charge of Finance and Infrastructure, Mr. Joseph Cudjoe, lauded the Commission for its contributions towards energy sustainability in the country.
He said all 15 Legislative Instruments which were developed by the Commission and passed by Parliament, has contributed significantly to the improvement of the country’s energy situation.
“All these feats including the development of a local content regulation is the reason why the Energy Commission has been very successful as an institution in Ghana,” he said.
By Wisdom Jonny-Nuekpe