The Chairman of the reconstituted Board of the Energy Commission, Professor John Gartchie Gatsi, has said the board will act and take decisions that align with the government’s key priorities in the sector. 

He said the board acknowledges the critical role of the energy sector in the socio-economic development of the country and would, therefore, serve and act to ensure that the steady progress the sector was making was sustained and improved upon.

Prof. Gatsi, an economist and Professor of Finance, gave the assurance during the inauguration of the board in Accra.

He, on behalf of the board, expressed gratitude to President John Dramani Mahama for the confidence reposed in them.

Board

Other members of the seven-member board include the acting Executive Secretary of the commission, Eunice A. Biritwum, the Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr Audrey Smock Amoah, and Prof. Dr Ernest Ofori Asamoah.

The rest are Danny Adzei Anang, Lorm Ama Abledu and Naser Mahama Toure.

Visionary leadership

Inaugurating the board, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, on behalf of the President, congratulated the members on their appointment, expressing confidence that they would bring their expertise and experience to bear on the work of the board, ultimately impacting the performance of the commission.

The Energy Minister underscored the critical role the commission played in the nation's energy sector, thus the need for the board to provide visionary leadership.

"Ghana is at a pivotal stage; Private sector participation in the electricity distribution value chain, green transition agenda, gas as a transition fuel and implementation of the liquid fuel-to-gas swap, competitive procurement of new generation capacity and standardisation of PPAs, and attracting investment for resilient infrastructure.

The commission, Mr Jinapor said, is the principal advisor to the government on power issues, emphasising that their decisions would be pivotal in enhancing progress made so far, addressing the current challenges and capitalising on the opportunities within the power sector.

He, therefore, charged them to be "bold, innovative and transparent, while upholding good governance."