Government has officially taken over the Takoradi 132 MW Thermal Power Plant (T3). This follows a successful completion of the Project and the subsequent successful performance tests conducted by the contractor, Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) on the Plant. The formal handing over ceremony was held at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum on Tuesday April 2, 2013 and signifies the commencement of commercial operations of the plant. This means the T3 Plant will now be run by the Volta River Authority (VRA) on behalf of Government of the Ghana. The signing of the Taking-Over Certificate was done by the Minister for Energy and Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah and Chief Executive Officer of the VRA, Kweku Awotwi, for the Employer, GoG, while Trudy Kernighan, Canadian High Commissioner, and John Bayley, Vice President of MAGELLAN AEROSPACE, signed on behalf of the Contractor. The Minister for Energy and Petroleum in his brief remarks thanked the Canadian Government for its support in the power sector and promised to ensure regular maintenance of the plant for maximum output. He also indicated that this plant will help reduce the power supply deficit currently being faced by the country and reemphasized the Government’s at ensuring that Load Shedding becomes a thing of the past. In apologizing to Ghanaians for the situation in which the current load shedding exercise puts them, Mr. Boah entreated them to use electricity judiciously. The Canadian High Commissioner, Trudy Kernighan, on her part, said the Canadian Government was willing to partner Ghana to ensure mutual benefits. She said her government was ready to offer its assistance to the Ghanaian Government to overcome its power challenges. The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum seizes this opportunity to thank the people of Ghana for their support even in the face of the challenges