By Yvonne Atilego
Goldfields Ghana Limited has lauded Genser Energy, a leading energy company in Ghana, for providing mining companies in the country with adequate, reliable and uninterrupted power supply.
The local company builds, owns, and operates distributed generation installations and natural gas distribution infrastructure while selling power and natural gas to mines, industries, and utilities.
Addressing participants at this year’s two-day suppliers conference held at Tarkwa in the Western Region on Monday, Head of supply chain at Goldfields, Theophilus Otchere, underscored the importance of partnerships in the mining industry.
Later, in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the conference, he touched primarily on why local contractors must study and understand the level of transparency and fairness involved in the tendering process and award of contracts to suppliers.
For more than 15 years, Genser Energy has not only played a crucial role in the energy sector as an Independent Power Producer (IPP) but has also offered meaningful respite for the country’s mining industry in terms of energy supply.
Through strategic partnerships with the mining firms in the country, they (companies) constantly receive power supplies from Genser Energy to power their plants for production.
Theophilus Otchere lauded Genser Energy for setting higher standards in the mining industry for other local companies to emulate and believe in themselves.
He said the shining example of Genser Energy must draw other local firms closer to total quality management and performance.
“For us, Genser being a strategic partner, we call them a life of mine relationship. Life of mine means that, in as much as we exist as a mine and do our business, that is a critical component to what we do that we can’t take out, so Genser is going to go the long hall with us.”
Describing the years of strive made by the Ghanaian firm, Mr. Theophilus Okyere revealed that “about ninety (90) % of our power consumption comes from what Genser is doing. And with Genser, we have a Purchase Power Agreement (PPA) with them.
They are generating power using natural gas on site, so we are not on the national grid. We can start up the mills here at about 40 megawatts of power using the Genser plant, and this is a local company that we started walking the journey with.
Today, we are proud that, yes, Genser is able to transport gas all the way from Atuabo to Tarkwa and to Damang to enable us to generate our own power on site.”
Since 2018, Genser Energy has constructed a total of 430km of natural gas pipelines. By closely collaborating with Ghanaian regulatory bodies, mining firms, and other related establishments.
Mr. Theophilus Otchere said as Ghana continues to prioritise the private sector, Goldfields believes their working relationship with various local companies and engagement with reliable firms, among others, continues to shape their ambitious targets while they uphold good governance practices at all times.
For him, it is expected that more local companies will be motivated to go in this positive direction and do something in the country, knowing that they will bring further socio-economic developments and prosperity to the nation.
In line with this, he emphasised that there ought to be synergies and collaborative efforts to cement the existing relationship between Goldfields and private sector players in the country.
He said they are all contributing significantly to the national economy and would undoubtedly play a justifiable role in shaping Ghana’s sustainable development journey.
