ACCRA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A new West African gas pipeline has begun pumping Nigerian gas to Ghana, where new gas-fired power generation should start up as early as January, companies involved in the project said.
The $620 million, 678 km (420 mile) pipeline has been built to transport natural gas from Nigeria's Niger Delta to Benin, Togo and Ghana to help ease chronic power shortages.
Ghana's Volta River Authority (VRA) power utility said in a statement late on Friday that the pipeline had been successfully filled and shut in, and the company was talking to suppliers to ensure continued flow once commissioning was completed.
VRA, which produces most of Ghana's electricity from the huge Volta dam, said on its website www.vra.com that it is increasing capacity at its Takoradi thermal plant to 660 MW from 550 MW, and switching from liquid fuel to gas to cut costs.
Frequent power cuts, especially in 2006, forced rolling blackouts across Ghana and reduced mining output from Africa's second biggest gold producer.
'This will ensure a reduction in the cost of production, as natural gas is cheaper than light crude oil that has been the source of fuel for the Takoradi plant since its construction 10 years ago,' VRA spokesman Kofi Asante Okai said in Friday's statement.
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