Ghana has revealed it had to buy electricity from neighbouring World Cup rival Ivory Coast in order to be ready for the surge in demand during the Black Stars’ opening Brazil 2014 match with USA.
Power was already being rationed by means of scheduled shutdowns due to shortages attributed to low water levels at hydroelectric dams on the Volta River. However, it was decided that denying any of the population an opportunity to witness what they hoped would be a repeat of previous World Cup successes over the Americans might cause unrest and special provisions were put in place, including the purchase of fifty megawatts from their neighbour and fierce football foe, and Volta Aluminium, Ghana;s largest smelter and a huge consumer of electricity, running at reduced production throughout the live 10pm broadcast of the game.
Ghana’s Public Utilities Regulatory Commission said: “These plans are put in place for consumers to watch uninterruptible football matches during the World Cup.”
Unfortunately disappointment reigned – except perhaps for Volta Aluminium – as the USA scored a late winner to take all the spoils, leaving the shell-shocked Black Stars a mountain to climb to make it through to the knockout stages.
Ghana derives most of its electricity from the Volta River, but that source has not generated enough to keep up with economic growth. Outages are common and solar and wind power investments, though supported by the government, have yet to make a significant contribution to the nation’s energy supply. Attempts to exploit recent discoveries of natural gas reserves are beset by delays in constructing refineries.
The government’s effort to ensure power supply during the World Cup is a populist move clearly intended to head off frustration with energy policy that has favoured large industry, such as aluminium smelters, at expense of reliability in homes.
Ghana famously missed an opportunity to progress to the latter stages of the last World Cup when striker Asamoah Gyan missed the last minute penalty that would have seen them overcome Uruguay, The spot kick was in any case poor compensation for the blatant handling by Luis Suarez of a goal-bound strike in added time that would have surely won the game for the Black Stars.
