...About Us

......Profile of VRA
.. ......Vision & Mission
.... .. ..Chief Executive Officer
. ..... ..Board of Directors
.... ..History
.... ..Past Chief Executives
.... .Awards/Achievments
.... ..Photo Gallery

Profile on VRA (cont'd)

In 1992, VRA commenced the Akosombo Generating Station Retrofit Project (AGSRP) after the Station had operated for over 25 years. The retrofit involves systematic replacement of the turbine runners to increase efficiency and prolong the life span of the generating station for another 30 years. This has increased the generating capacity at Akosombo from 912MW to 1020MW. The Project was suspended in 1995 partly in order to sustain the supply capability during a period of anticipated shortage. Work was resumed in 1998 and completed in 2005.

To address the increasing demand and also reduce the risk of hydro power shortage due to the variability of inflows into the Volta Lake, a 330 MW Combined Cycle Thermal Plant was commissioned at Aboadze near Takoradi in 1999. This was followed in 2000, by the addition of a further 220 MW simple cycle thermal plant at the same site, developed through a joint-venture partnership between the VRA and CMS Energy of Michigan , USA . A 110 MW steam plant is to be added to the 220 MW thermal plant to bring the total installed thermal generation capacity to 660 MW.

Transmission and Distribution

VRA has a transmission system made up of 42 substations and approximately 4,000 circuit kilometres of transmission lines that cover the entire country. The Authority has service transmission lines to Togo and Benin through Communaute' Electrique du Benin (CEB), and has an inter-tie with the power system of Cote d'Ivoire through Compagnie Ivoirienne d' Electricité (CIE). VRA serves the border towns of Po and Leo in Burkina Faso via distribution extensions. For more information click here.

In 1987, VRA established the Northern Electricity Department (NED) to distribute electricity in parts of Ashanti , Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions. NED was developed as an integral part of the larger Northern Electrification Project that extended the national electricity grid beyond Kumasi, almost 25 years after the Akosombo Dam was commissioned. In 1999 NED's operational area was extended to the northern parts of the Volta Region.


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