Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Project is a game changer; NDC’s opposition to project baseless

Quite typical of the National Democratic Congress’ ( NDC) dislike for the Ashanti Region, the party has questioned why the government relocated the AMERI Power Plant to Kumasi for the establishment of the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Project (K1TPP).

But, many residents in the region have condemned the party for its baseless criticism of the power project, which is the first thermal plant in the middle belt of the country. Although the K1TPP comes with a lot of benefits to the people of the middle belt up to the northern parts of the country, the NDC are angry that it is sited in the Ashanti Region.

Among NDC leaders opposed to the project is the party’s Director of Legal Affairs, Edudzi Kudjo Tameklo, who reportedly questioned, what is so special about the Ashanti Region that the Ameri Plant has been relocated there.

Welcome decision
But, many residents of Kumasi who spoke to The Thunder on Monday, April 15, welcomed the establishment of the K1TPP, describing it as one of the best things to happen to the Ashanti Region. They believed that the plant will stabilize the power situation in the region extending to other parts of the middle belt and the northern part of the country.

NDC’s 4 years Dumsor
Taking a look down memory lane, the residents mentioned for instance how the John Mahama government inflicted four years of dumsor on the people, which destroyed many businesses in the region. They acknowledged the efforts of the Akufo-Addo government, through the Ministry of Energy’s efforts to address the current power situation in what has become popularly known as “dum sie sie”.

NHIS Capitation
Further buttressing why the NDC dislikes Ashanti Region, the residents made reference to how the John Mahama government intentionally introduced the NHIS capitation system as a pilot programme in the Ashanti Region, which brought untold hardships to the people while accessing health care.

Under the programme, clients selected their preferred health facility, which was responsible for their primary healthcare needs. “The capitation system was a killer programme brought on us by the NDC as it led to the deaths of many people,“ a resident, Charles Mensah told The Thunder.

Therefore, the people called on the NPP to be wide awake and work towards victory in the December 7 elections because it would be disastrous for the region if the NDC comes back to power.

Energy Ministry’s bold decision
In 2022, the Ministry of Energy took a bold decision to relocate the Ameri Power Plant from its Aboadze base in the Western Region to establish the K1TPP at Anwomaso in the Oforikrom Municipality.

On July 1, 2022, the Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, explaining in Parliament why the plant was moved to Kumasi said the decision was taken after the Ameri contract elapsed in January 2021, and the plant fully became the property of the Government of Ghana.

He stated: “For over 10 years, Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and the Volta River Authority ( VRA) in their grid stability exercises study, showed that the weakest link in the whole Ghana National Transmission System is Ashanti. They suffer the worst voltages in the country and they suffer from more interruptions anywhere else in the country. So GRIDCo and VRA both approached the ministry that we should start relocating generational plants to Kumasi and further up north going forward because that is where they have the problem.

“So when it happened that Ameri plant became available, the decision then was taken to start a third generation plant in Kumasi. It is a decision taken by government to ensure stable electricity system in the country”.

VRA on benefits
The VRA, which manages the K1TPP, has explained that the project, which will be commissioned tomorrow Wednesday, April 17 by President Akufo-Addo, will address voltage and power quality issues in Kumasi and the northern parts of Ghana by boosting system voltages and thus improving overall system stability.

According to the VRA, the coming on board of the plant was against the background of a grid impact study undertaken by GRIDCo recommending that a minimum of 250MW of power generation was required in the Ashanti Region to guarantee reliability and stability in the national grid.

The VRA also believes that the siting of a power plant in Kumasi would ensure that electricity consumers in the middle and the northern parts of the country receive quality and reliable power.