THE government is set to distribute solar lamps to off-grid rural communities to replace kerosene lanterns as part of measures to mitigate any effect the removal of subsidies on fuel will have on the rural poor.
The withdrawal of subsidies on petroleum products has seen the price of kerosene being revised upwards from GH¢2.21 to GH¢4.71.
Under the programme, to be implemented in three phases, 20,000 solar lanterns will be distributed to some 1,000 communities in remote island communities under phase one at a cost of GH¢2 million between January 2013 and June 2014.
The Head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum (MOEP), Mr Edward Bawa, who disclosed this in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, said the targeted households would be required to turn in their kerosene lamps or pay subsidised prices for the solar lamps valued at GH¢100 each.
Under the second phase, which will span a period of two years (2014-2016), a local assembly plant would be established to assemble some 50,000 solar lamps for distribution through a grant of 50 per cent subsidy package, Mr Bawa said.
“This is aimed at ensuring a sustainable market for solar lantern promotion in the country and also serve to reduce the expenditure of rural people on energy for lighting,” he said, adding that the government intended to build local capacity and create jobs in the assembling and maintenance of the lanterns in the country.
He noted that phase three of the project, which will span a period of 18 months, would be aimed at supporting promotional support for the project as part of a sustainability and market chain development.
At that level, consumers would pay the full cost of the lamps, he indicated.
Mr Bawa said the government was working out sustainable modalities for the distribution of specially designed LPG bottles under its rural LPG programme.
“The modalities are being worked out to provide subsidy for the project through the rural LPG compensation fund,” he said.
He also said the installation of solar PVs for off-grid remote and island communities which had been ongoing since 2010 as part of a programme to reduce the use of kerosene in beneficiary communities would be upscaled, in line with the government’s programme to progressively extend electricity to rural communities across the country.
“Our expectation is that while this project seeks to accelerate the development of rural communities, it will also help eliminate the impact of smoke-related diseases on the health of women and children who are at the centre of rural activities in remote communities nationwide,” Mr Bawa said.
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