Former Minister for Power and former Chairman of Parliament’s Energy and Mines Committee, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, says Ghana needs to have a national conversation on the possibility of dedicating electricity from the Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam to heavy industries.
Dr. Donkor argues that access to cheaper power could unlock Ghana’s long-standing industrialisation ambitions. He believes Ghana cannot successfully develop its iron and steel, aluminium and other mineral processing industries without securing affordable and reliable electricity, which remains one of the biggest cost components of heavy industrial production.
In an exclusive interview with The High Street Journal, Dr. Donkor argued that although nuclear power would be the preferred option for providing affordable baseload electricity to industry, Ghana must explore the potential of its existing hydroelectric resources while it works towards other long-term energy solutions.
He proposed that electricity from Akosombo, which he says can be generated at less than four US cents per kilowatt-hour because it is legacy infrastructure, could be strategically allocated to industries requiring substantial and continuous power.
Dedicate Cheaper Akosombo Power to Heavy Industries
According to Dr. Donkor, Ghana must be bold enough to reconsider how its relatively cheaper electricity resources are allocated, particularly when the country is seeking to establish industries capable of transforming its mineral wealth into finished products.
He argued that hydroelectricity from Akosombo offers a cost advantage over thermal generation and could provide a more affordable energy source for energy-intensive industries such as aluminium smelting, iron ore processing and steel production.
“Akosombo can generate at less than four cents per kilowatt hour because it’s sunk cost, it’s legacy power. So if we were to dedicate that to refining and smelting our bauxite, our iron ore and other minerals, the multiplier effect will more than pay for the power that we would have sold to them at a cheaper rate,” he explained.
He believes the economic benefits would extend beyond the electricity sector through increased employment, exports, industrial expansion and tax revenue. For him, the country must consider the broader economic returns of supplying industries with cheaper electricity rather than focusing only on the immediate revenue from selling power.
Nuclear Power Remains the Long-Term Industrial Energy Option
While advocating the strategic use of Akosombo’s hydroelectricity, Dr. Donkor acknowledged the importance of nuclear energy in providing affordable baseload power for industrial development.
However, since Ghana does not currently have nuclear power generation, he believes the country must make the best use of the relatively cheaper hydroelectric power available. He also dismissed concerns that dedicating Akosombo power to industry would necessarily create electricity shortages for households and other consumers.
According to him, the proposal is about reallocating the cheapest available electricity to productive industrial activities rather than withdrawing power from the national system.
“No, there wouldn’t be a shortfall. We are just dedicating the cheapest form,” he clarified.
He, however, stressed that the proposed arrangement must go hand in hand with improvements in energy efficiency.
Move Beyond Economic Stability to Industrial Expansion
Dr. Donkor believes Ghana must now use its improving macroeconomic conditions to pursue a more ambitious industrial transformation agenda.
He praised the government’s efforts at promoting value addition in the gold sector but argued that more opportunities remain in developing a domestic jewellery industry and ensuring that lithium extraction translates into local employment, processing and industrial expansion. He maintained that the country must become deliberate about converting its natural resource potential into tangible economic outcomes.
“Potential is of no use as long as it remains potential. We must translate our God-given resources into industrial goods, into real development, into manufacturing, into opportunities, into employment,” he stressed.
For Dr. Donkor, Ghana’s next economic conversation must therefore move beyond macroeconomic indicators to measurable improvements in manufacturing jobs, industrial production, exports and the contribution of industry to GDP.
His proposal challenges policymakers and the wider Ghanaian public to reconsider how the country’s cheapest electricity resources can support productive economic activities and accelerate industrialisation.
