By Dominic Hlodzi
High Electricity consumption in public schools and institutions is said to be a huge operational cost for the government.
In its bid to help reduce energy bills in schools, the National Union of Ghana Students, NUGS is partnering the Energy Commission and other energy-related institutions to educate students and managers of schools on the need to conserve energy and use electricity efficiently.
In Furtherance of this, a NUGS Energy Summit has taken place at the University of Professional Studies in Accra.
The cost of electricity in public schools and institutions across the country is a growing concern.
Experts say it is unsustainable for the government to continue to pay utility bills for these institutions. The situation is worsened when students do not use power judiciously.
For this reason, the National Union of Ghana Students, NUGS is organizing energy conservation events to get experts from the energy sector to educate students on the need to use energy efficiently.
Head of Public Affairs at the Ghana Energy Commission, Madam Ethel Mensah said energy must always be used wisely.
She stated that the Commission is partnering with NUGS to educate the students.
“We are hoping the students will walk away with the concept of energy efficiency and conservation nexus which is a demand supply mechanism”. Madam Mensah said.
She explained that the efficiency aspect is for the government and regulators to ensure that there are energy efficient appliances on the market and for consumers to develop the attitude of conserving energy.
Mr. Bernard Owusu Dankwa who manages projects at the Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG said he expects the students to understand the need to efficiently use power, be responsible citizens and report power theft.
He explained that when citizens help ECG with information on illegal activities, it will aid the company to resolve challenges with operations and reduce the number of outages on the distribution networks to ensure reliable power supply.
Senior Mechanical Engineer at the Volta River Authority, VRA, Mr. Kofi Gyekye Adarkwa also highlighted the importance of saving energy.
He urged the students and managers of the public schools, especially universities to learn the techniques of conserving energy.
He emphasized the need for power consumers to be mindful of the decision they take in purchasing electrical appliances and how to power their houses and offices and take advantage of available technologies to reduce power consumption and save cost.
NUGS hopes the engagement will lead to a drastic reduction in overall energy consumption by students and public institutions.
