The President of Ghana has announced the appointment of two fellows of The Energy Center, KNUST (TEC) as members for the Energy Commission. The TEC Fellows are Prof Abeeku Brew-Hammond, who will serve as Chairman of the Commission, and Dr Rudith King. 

The Energy Commission was established by an Act of Parliament, Act 541, in 1997. The main objective of the Commission is to regulate and manage the utilisation of energy resources in Ghana and co-ordinate policies in relation to them.  The specific objectives of the Commission are the following:

(a)   recommend national policies for the development and utilisation of indigenous energy   resources;

(b)   advise the Minister on national policies for the efficient, economical, and safe supply of electricity, natural gas, and petroleum products having due regard to the national economy;

(c)   prepare, review and update periodically indicative national plans to ensure that all reasonable demands for energy are met;

(d)   secure a comprehensive data base for national decision making on the extent of development and utilisation of energy resources available to the nation;

(e)   receive and assess applications, and grant licences under this Act to public utilities for the transmission, wholesale supply, distribution, and sale of electricity and natural gas;

(f)   establish and enforce, in consultation with the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, standards of performance for public utilities engaged in the transmission, wholesale supply, distribution and sale of electricity and natural gas;

(g)   promote and ensure uniform rules of practice for the transmission, wholesale supply, distribution and sale of electricity and natural gas;

(h)   receive and assess applications, and grant licences under this Act for the refining, storage, bulk transportation, marketing and sale of petroleum products;

(i)    establish and enforce standards of performance for bodies engaged in the supply, marketing, and sale of petroleum products;

(j)   promote competition in the supply, marketing and sale of petroleum products;

(k)   maintain a register of public utilities, petroleum product marketing companies, retail stations and reseller outlets licensed under this Act in the country;

(l)    pursue and ensure strict compliance with this Act and regulations made under this Act; and

(m)  perform any other function assigned to it under this Act or any other enactment.

The Energy Commission also has responsibility for managing and administering the Energy Fund whose main sources of financing are a government levy on petroleum products and money accruing to the Commission in the performance of its functions. Act 541 establishing the Energy Commission stipulates that monies of the Fund shall be applied as follows:

(a)   promotion of energy efficiency and productive uses of electricity, natural gas and petroleum products;

(b)   promotion of projects for the development and utilisation of renewable energy resources, including solar energy;

(c)   human resource development in the energy sector ; and

(d)   such other relevant purposes as may be determined by the Commission.

Prof Abeeku Brew-Hammond, who has been appointed by the President to serve as Chairman of the Energy Commission, is the current Acting Director of TEC. Prof Brew-Hammond is also Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical and Agricultural Engineering

Dr Rudith King, who has also been appointed by the President to serve as a member of the Energy Commission, is a Senior Lecturer and former Head of the Centre for Settlement Studies in the College of Architecture and Planning.