iPAD West Africa / West African Power Industry Convention

2 - 3 December 2009

Conference Program Day 1

Wednesday 2 December 2009

Joint keynote and opening session
Chairman: Dr Temitope W. Oshikoya, Director General, West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), Ghana

09h00 - 09h10

Welcome address
Ing. Sqn. Ldr. Clend Sowu (Rtd.), Chairman of the Board, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ghana

09h10 - 09h40

Presidential address delivered by the Vice-President
H.E. John Dramani Mahama, Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana, Office of the President, Ghana

09h40 - 10h10

Opening address: Powering Ghana in the oil era
Hon. Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, Minister, Ministry of Energy, Ghana

10h10 - 10h30

Keynote address: Defining Nigeria’s new power sector
Hon. Dr. Lanre Babalola, Minister, Ministry of Power, Nigeria 

10h30 - 11h30

Business leaders plenary panel: Driving West African regional growth through the development of industrial infrastructure
This high level panel will explore how governments and industry can transform the region’s development. What is needed for regional infrastructure plans to materialise? What are facts about the power needs for industrial growth and development and how can private public institutions cooperate to achieve this?   How can the region best appeal to investors during the global financial recovery?

Moderator: Dr Temitope W. Oshikoya, Director General, West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), Ghana

Panellists:

• Dr Ishac Diwan, Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, World Bank, Ghana
• Michael Kane, Infrastructure Specialist, African Development Bank, Ghana
• Peter Turner, Executive Vice President: Head of West Africa Region, Goldfields, Ghana
• Zhen Han, Director, Structured Finance, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), United States
• Lee Muller, Executive Vice President, ContourGlobal, United States

Update on the regional power market
Chairman and Moderator: Kweku Andoh Awotwi, Chief Executive Officer, Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana

13h30 - 13h45

Transition to cost reflective tariffs in Nigeria: the Multi-year approach
Dr Haliru Dikko, Head of Market Competition and Rates Division, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigeria

13h35 - 15h00

Think tank: Cost reflective tariffs to sustain the power industry and the impact on industrial investment

Panellists:

• Ibrahima Thiam, Chairman, ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), Ghana
• Eng. Babatunde Adeyemo, Director, Information and Coordination Centre (ICC), West African Power Pool (WAPP), Benin
• Joshua Ofedie, Executive Director, Electricity and Power Sector, KRON Finance & Investments Ltd, Ghana
• Dr Alfred K. Ofosu Ahenkorah, Executive Secretary, Energy Commission, Ghana
• Stephen N. Adu, Commissioner/Executive Secretary, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Ghana
• Moctar Touré, Executive Chairman, Mali Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission (CREE), Mali

Sustainability and the West African energy mix
Focus on the vast solar potential of the region, emmissions reductions from gas and oil as well as off-grid projects to power rural areas.  Key are the lead times on any project as this will determine the technologies chosen as well as the question: is West Africa going to take advantage of hybrid systems?

Chairman: Ebenezer Appah-Sampong, Chief Programme Officer and Head of Environmental Assessment and Audit Department, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ghana

15h30 - 16h00

Sustainable Energy Solution for Rural Development: The Small Hydropower Option
Eng. Dr Ayodele A. Esan, Technical Director/CEO, Regional Centre for Small Hydro Power in Africa, UNIDO, Nigeria

16h00 - 16h30

Promoting Energy Efficiency (EE) for Climate Benefits – UNDP’s Experiences
Etiosa Uyigue, National Consultant on Energy Efficiency, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Nigeria

16h30 - 17h00

Electrifying West Africa: Togo – A Case Study
Zhen Han, Director, Structured Finance, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), United States
Lee Muller, Executive Vice President, ContourGlobal, United States

Conference Program Day 2

Thursday 3 December 2009

Keynote session - Focus sector: Mining
Chairman and Moderator: Nana Adu Ampofo, Country Analyst, IHS Global Insight, United Kingdom

09h00 - 09h15

Keynote address
Hon. Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ghana

09h15 - 09h30

Update on legal and regulatory frameworks for the Ghanaian mining sector
Benjamin N.A.  Aryee, Chief Executive Officer, Minerals Commission, Ghana

09h30 - 10h30

Think-tank: Private sector perspectives: How can stakeholders work together to ensure energy needs of the mining sector are met.  How can mining in Ghana remain relevant during the oil era?  What are investors’ perspectives on infrastructure challenges and what contribution can mining sector investors make in creating a sector where there is transparency and mutual benefit for all stakeholders?

Panellists:

• Dr Joyce R.  Aryee, Chief Executive Officer, Chamber of Mines, Ghana
• Nick Cotts, Regional Vice President, Environmental & Social Responsibility Africa, Newmont Mining Corporation, Ghana
• Peter Turner, Executive Vice President: Head of West Africa Region, Goldfields, Ghana
• Daniel Owiredu, Vice President Operations, Golden Star Resources Ltd, Ghana
• Poupak Bahamin, Partner, Heenan Blaikie, Canada

Keynote session - Power generation: pioneering the way forward for industry and mining
Chairman and Moderator: Joshua Ofedie, Executive Director, Electricity and Power Sector, KRON Finance & Investments Ltd, Ghana

11h00 - 11h15

Keynote address
Eng. Achinaya Uzoma, Executive Director of Market Operations, Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Nigeria

11h15 - 12h30

Plenary panel: Who is managing the bigger picture of power generation? How can generation utilities, IPPs, co-generators and off-grid generators, as well as power rental companies, best coordinate their strategies for optimum results? What are the comparative finance models for electricity generation?  How can the generation options be coordinated so that industry benefits too?

Panellists:

• Jabesh Amissah-Arthur, Chief Executive Officer, Bui Power Authority (BPA), Ghana
• Dr Jeff Cochrane, Regional Economic Officer – West Africa, USAID, Ghana
• Ernest Kwasi Okoh, Managing Director, Aluworks Ltd., Ghana
• Eng. Idongesit Archibong, Design Consultant, National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), Nigeria
• Marc Hasenclever, COO, Shoreline Power Co. Ltd., Nigeria*

Infrastructure: electricity transmission and distribution
What are the challenges for getting regional interconnection projects off the ground? What plans are there for the maintenance of existing transmission lines? 

Chairman: Eng. Charles A. Darku, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), Ghana

13h30 - 13h50

WAPP and interconnection challenges within the sub-region
Eng. Babatunde Adeyemo, Director, Information and Coordination Centre (ICC), West African Power Pool (WAPP), Benin

13h50 - 14h10

Transmission: Transformer Explosion Prevention: TP Successful Activation
Samy Tadjine, Business Development Area Manager, SERGI, France

14h10 - 14h30

Distribution: Prepayment Metering in Nigeria
Eng. George Osunkwo, Distribution and Metering Consultant, Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Nigeria

14h30 - 15h00

From prepayment to smart payment
Christophe Viarnaud, Managing Director, Itron SEA, South Africa
Tim Adams, Business Unit Manager – West Africa, Itron SEA, South Africa

Closing session
Moderator: George K. Aboagye, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Ghana

15h30 - 16h30

Closing session think-tank: private sector and financiers’ perspectives on the way forward for project implementation and sustainable development

Panellists:

• Solomon Asamoah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Nigeria
• Tony Oteng-Gyasi, President, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana
• Dr Amichia J.C. Biley, Regional Director West Africa, Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), Ghana
• Kofi Bentil, Policy Analyst, Imani Ghana, Ghana
• Edward Annan, Managing Director, Masai Developers Limited, Ghana