VRA positioning itself for Ghana’s digitisation agenda

The Volta River Authority says, mindful of the fact that digitisation will be a major enabler of business in few years, it is preparing itself for the advent of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) or any significant technological advance that will manifest in Ghana and the sub region.

The company says it recognises that digitisation will compel it to drive down cost to remain competitive and it is therefore getting ready to embrace the change.

Speaking yesterday in Accra at the launch of the VRA’s 60^th Anniversary Celebration, the Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa, said the company is preparing itself for a future that will depend on clean cost-effective diversified sources of energy mainly through solar, wind and biomas.

“Digitisation will facilitate the integration of these variable sources of power generation for effective operations. More importantly, technology will enable us to better monitor and maintain our generation asset,” the CEO stated.

Plans

To this end, the company says it intends to be the leader in the Electric Vehicle (EV) space and will, therefore, collaborate with GRIDCO to continue the development of a smart grid in Ghana to serve as the backbone to the digitisation efforts.

Mr Antwi-Darkwa noted that the company is also focusing on building a corps of human capital that is fit for the digital age.

Again, the company says it is pragmatic enough to know that a digital strategy is good and is therefore making systematic changes to their business and operating model.

The CEO disclosed that, as a first step, the company has commenced a process to convert the Akosombo township into a smart city.

It has also completed a roof top solar project at its head office, as a precursor to establishing solar parks and rooftop solar facilities in Akosombo, Aboadze and Akuse enclaves.

The CEO added that the company recognises that it is duty-bound to ensure there is adequate, competitively priced electricity to support industrial and social development.

As such, the company has embarked on a number of renewable energy projects to meet the national demand in an environmentally sustainable manner. These include the 60MW Pwalugu Multipurpose project, which has an additional solar component of 50MW.

The company is also constructing the 17MW Kaleo/Lawra solar plants while developing wind projects at Ada and Anloga, among other initiatives.

VRA beyond Aid

The CEO added that the company has resolved to move “VRA Beyond Aid by the Government” and has therefore devised prudent management practices, including introduction of financial recovery plan in 2017.

“This has resulted in the consistent improvement of our year-to-year financial position. Though we are not out of the woods yet, we can say we are in a better place today. Our overall aim is to develop VRA into a public institution which operates with a private sector mindset,” he noted.

The VRA’s 60^th anniversary celebration will be held on April 26, 2021 under the theme “Celebrating 60years in the power business: our legacy, our future”.