The Ministry of Energy is the government ministry in charge of extending and ensuring a continuous supply of energy services to every division of the Ghanaian economy in an energy sufficient, environmentally friendly

Environmentally friendly

Environmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....

 manner.

Functions of the Ministry

The function of the ministry is to improve the distribution of electricity across the country, especially to communities and towns in rural Ghana. The ministry seeks to encourage the participation of the private sector in the development of energy infrastructure and secure future energy supply.

Sector minister

The minister for energy is the head of the ministry and is directly accountable to the President of Ghana

President of Ghana

The President of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana. Officially styled President of the Republic of Ghana and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghanaian Armed Forces. The current President of Ghana is Prof. John Atta Mills, who took office in January...

. The position is politically appointed and approved by parliament of Ghana. Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei has been the sector minister since the Mills administration took over government in 2009.

Achievements

The ministry has increased the number of towns and communities on the national grid as well as improved the quality of supply of electricity. In 2002 the Tema Oil Refinery

Tema Oil Refinery

The Tema Oil Refinery is the only crude oil refinery in Ghana.-History:The refinery is in Tema, the most industralized city in Ghana. It is from Accra, the capital of Ghana. The refinery was first named the Ghanaian Italian Petroleum Company...

 in Tema

Tema

Tema is a city on the Atlantic coast of Ghana, lying east of the Ghanaian capital city, Accra, in the region of Greater Accra. As of 2005, Tema had a population of 209,000. The Greenwich Meridian passes directly through the city...

 was fitted with a residual fuel catalytic cracker. This was to allow for the recovery of additional refined products from fuel oil that were previously wasted. In 2003, it completed and commissioned a 161 kilovolts transmission line to supply the Prestea

Prestea

Prestea is a town in southwest Ghana. It lies on the west bank of the Ankobra River, about 60 mi northwest of Cape coast.- Transport :It is the terminus of a railway branchline linked with Tarkwa and Sekondi-Takoradi.- External links :...

 to Obuasi

Obuasi

Obuasi is a city in southern Ghana, lying south of Kumasi. It has a population of 115,564 On the railway line from Kumasi to Sekondi, it is known for its gold mine, now one of the ten largest in the world, gold having been mined on the site since at least the seventeenth century. Tourists can...

. The ministry also advanced policies on deregulating the petroleum sector in Ghana. Under the Rural Kerosine Distribution Improvement Program, the ministry financed the fabrication and distribution of 700 kerosene tanks for each of the country's 110 districts. The ministry distributed televisions and installed solar panels in 160 Junior High Schools in all ten regions of Ghana to enable school children in rural communities to watch the weekly Presidents Special Initiative on Distance Learning Program while in school. This is to promote teaching and learning in schools that do not have an electricity supply.

Agencies under the minstry

The ministry has oversight responsibility over certain agencies. They include:

1. Ghana National Petroleum Commission
2. Volta River Authority
   Volta River Authority
   The Volta River Authority is the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana.-Establishment:The VRA was established by the Volta River Development Act, Act 46 of the Republic of Ghana on April 26, 1961....