VOLTA RIVER AUTHORITY (VRA) SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS 2024

December 9th, 2023 at 06:49 am

VOLTA RIVER AUTHORITY (VRA) SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS 2024

The Community Development Programme (CDP) offers financial aid to exceptionally talented students in need in the communities that the Volta River Authority (VRA) influences. This is part of the VRA’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. Offers of Financial Aid

The VRA would be pleased if you could provide us with the names of students who have qualified for the 2023–2024 academic year and received admission into any public tertiary institution as regular student who does not pay fees. This conclusion is based on the information presented above.

The selection process would be based on the criteria included below to select the student who is the most talented but also the most in need.

Scholarship Information

• Sponsor: Volta River Authority
• Type of Scholarship: Funded
• Level of study: Undergraduate
• Eligibility: Ghanaian Students

The Criteria are as follows

• The student must be a native of the impacted community.
• The student should have attended a Public Basic School in the impacted community.
• The student must have obtained between aggregates 6-24 at the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) Levels.
• He or She must have gained admission into a Public Tertiary institution in the country as a regular non-paying student
• The student must attach copies of the Admission letter, Basic Education, and Senior High School Certificates.

Benefits

The selected student would benefit from support at the Tertiary level for the Hostel, Student Representative Council, and Academic user fees. Please note that the emphasis of the awards is on Brilliant but Needy.

How To Apply?

Candidates interested in applying for the scholarship can go to the CSR page on the website www.vra.com to download the application forms. At the Community Relations Office in Akosombo, you are required to hand over the application form that has been filled out in its entirety and any additional pertinent documentation.

Application deadline

You must be aware that the deadline for the submission of applications is the 15th of January 2024.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Concerning the Volta River Authority

The Volta River Development Act, Act 46 of the Republic of Ghana, gave the Volta River Authority (VRA) its charter to produce, transmit, and distribute power when it was founded on April 26, 1961.

The VRA’s role is now mostly limited to the generation of electricity, though, as a result of a significant revision that was made to the Act in 2005 as part of the Ghana Government Power Sector Reforms. Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are now more likely to enter the Ghanaian energy market thanks to this amendment’s favorable climate.

The amendment also divided the distribution agency, the Northern Electricity Department (NED), founded in April 1987, into the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), a fully-owned independent subsidiary of the VRA, and separated the transmission function of the VRA into a distinct organization named the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo).

Power Activities

The VRA has expanded the range of energy sources it uses to generate power in order to capitalize on readily available, sustainable energy sources, namely hydro, natural gas, and renewable energy. A total of 2,532MW of installed electrical production capacity is owned and operated by the Authority. The two primary hydroelectric plants, Akosombo and Kpong Generating Stations have a combined capacity of 1,020 MW and 160 MW. They are situated on the Volta River. A 2.5 MW solar PV plant in Navrongo, Upper East Region; a 6.54 MW solar PV plant in Lawra; and a 13 MW solar PV plant in Kaleo, Upper West Region, round up this group.

Activities for Power Expansion

In order to achieve the goal of the government’s Renewable Energy (RE) Policy and to diversify the Authority’s generation portfolio, VRA developed a Renewable Energy (RE) Policy that outlines the development and operation of RE facilities in a way that is economical, environmentally sound, and efficient.

As a result, the first phase of the Renewable Energy Construction Programme (REDP), which was established between 2011 and 2015, focused on the construction of 150MW of wind energy and 14.5MW of solar PV. The second phase’s schedule, which called for 200 MW of wind energy and roughly 100 MW of solar PV, was set for 2016 to 2020.

Currently, the VRA is developing 150 MW or so of wind power at selected locations in the southern regions of the nation. For the first 75 MW Wind Power project in Anloga, Srogbe, and Anyanui in the Volta Region, Feasibility Studies, Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs), and Grid Impact Studies have been completed. The project is scheduled to begin construction in 2022.

Connections with Clients and Adjacent Nations

Through the Ghana Grid Company’s (GRIDCo) transmission system, which connects to the national electricity grids of Cote d’Ivoire—Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Électricité (CIE), Togo—Communauté Electrique du Benin (CEB), and Burkina Faso (SONABEL), the VRA reaches its customers in Ghana and its neighboring countries. These connections are a component of the West Africa Power Pool’s (WAPP) transmission network.

Three distribution firms are among the main bulk customers of the VRA: Enclave Power Company (EPC), Northern Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. (NEDCo), and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). While power sold to EPC serves industrial and commercial needs in the Tema Free Zone, power sold to ECG and NEDCo mostly serves domestic, industrial, and commercial concerns in the southern and northern regions of the nation, respectively.

A number of mining firms, including AngloGold Ashanti, Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Goldfields Ghana Limited, and Golden Star Resources Group, are also recipients of bulk sales from the Authority.

Sub-Regional Collaboration

As one of the foundation customers for the West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAGP), the VRA ensures the sub-region’s competitiveness in electricity delivery. Under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Authority is also taking part in the creation of a power pooling mechanism to boost the accessibility, availability, and affordability of energy in the West Africa subregion. In order to improve the accessibility, availability, and affordability of energy in the West African Sub-Region, the Authority and the West African Power Pool (WAPP) are still working together.

2018 saw the official launch of the West Africa Regional Electricity Market by West African Power Pool (WAPP), with the first phase going live in 2020. The market will provide efficiency to local and regional markets by facilitating and regularizing cross-border trade in power.

Relationships with Regulatory Bodies by Statute

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) and the Energy Commission (EC) are the commercial and technical regulators, respectively, and the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) provides support in the area of corporate governance. The Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Public Enterprises all have supervisory roles in the Authority’s operations.

Non Power Activities

In the Akosombo Township, the VRA manages and performs Local Authority duties in compliance with Executive Instrument (EI) 42, 1989. Additionally, it oversees and offers property management, building management, property development, and security services to the townships of Aboadze, the VRA community at Akuse, and Akosombo.

In Aboadze, Akosombo, and Akuse, the Authority still operates first- and second-cycle schools. Additionally, inside its operational regions of Akosombo, Aboadze, Akuse, and Accra, VRA offers healthcare services to its employees, their dependents, and the local community.

Agenda for Climate Change

The VRA, in its Renewable Energy Policy, has developed a Carbon Footprint Management Programme (CFMP) that outlines planned actions towards pollution prevention, waste reduction, and sustainable development in response to the global clarion call for a cohesive approach to confronting the challenges of climate change.

Since 2018, the Authority has used natural gas to run all of its thermal facilities, which has significantly reduced carbon emissions.

Social Responsibility of Companies

The promotion of workable solutions that guarantee the bolstering of current alliances between the Authority and impacted communities within our operational areas is essential to the execution of this plan.

The VRA Resettlement Trust Fund was established in 1995 as a result of a joint effort by VRA and the Ghanaian government. Its purpose is to offer 52 resettlement township solutions for economic empowerment and socioeconomic interventions, as approved by the Managing Trustees. Every year, VRA still contributes the equivalent of five hundred thousand US dollars (US$500,000) to the fund in support of programs aimed at reducing poverty for residents of the 52 resettlement townships.

Program for Community Development (CDP)

In the communities where its operations have an influence, VRA introduced the Community Development Programme (CDP) in 2012. About the discovery and provision of solutions to pressing issues that promote the development of human and economic capital, the CDP serves as a platform for collaboration and partnership between VRA and the communities. The initiative also aims to turn all communities into “opportunity communities” by fostering the growth and execution of social and economic activities within each community.

The Authority has offered assistance in the following domains:

Education:

Since its establishment in 2011, the scholarship has helped a total of 449 students. There are 234 Senior High School students and 215 Tertiary students among the total.

Socio-Economic Empowerment:

Through its Poverty Alleviation Program, VRA offers training in beekeeping and growing fruit trees to communities impacted by its operations in riparian areas. As of 2020, about 60 members of Community-Based Organizations in 5 afflicted localities had 134 established bee hives, up from 124 in 2019.

Eradication of Diseases:

The Authority continues to work in tandem with the Asuogyaman District Health Management Team to eradicate water-borne illnesses such as bilharzia and malaria. A Memorandum of Understanding outlining strategies for the elimination of malaria with assistance from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication serves as the basis for these initiatives. As part of the efforts to eradicate the COVID-19 virus, the Authority additionally supplied fumigation and disinfection services for five (5) towns and all work locations.

Public Health:

The Authority regularly conducts a Mass Drug Administration Program in the Basin’s towns as part of its Schistosomiasis Control Program. Research conducted by the Ghana Health Service in 2018 revealed that 42 communities spread over six districts—South, North and Central Tongu, South Dayi, Ada East, and Shai Osudoku—saw a decrease in the prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis compared to the previous year.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED