Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Mami Dufie Ofori, has been adjudged the Female Energy Personality of the Year for 2020 at the 4th Ghana Energy Awards (GEA) which came off in Accra recently.
Other personalities nominated for the Female Energy Personality of the Year were Ing. Harriette Amissah-Arthur, Executive Partner, Arthur Energy Advisors; Khadijah Amoah, Country Director, Aker Energy Ghana; Kate Quartey-Papafio, Chairperson, Reroy Group; and Doreen Dedume-Williams, MD, TMG Ghana.
Touching on how humbled and proud she is about the award and the company she finds herself in with regards to the other nominees, Mrs. Ofori noted that the team she leads has consistently worked hard to serve all stakeholders in the energy sector. “This is a prestigious award and together with my team, I take this award with a lot of pride,” she said.
To her, the energy sector has many facets and sectors, therefore, welcome all classes of professions and not just engineering. “Women, therefore can excel in the sector. I would encourage women to go into the energy sector because it is very fulfilling and you can carve a niche for yourself,” she said.
She added that the PURC, over the years, has gradually built up an efficient customer service premised on its regulatory goal, ‘Regulating for Development, which means the Commission seeks to make positive impact by making sure the customer gets the right service at the right price.
“We are aspiring to ensure the utilities meet the needs of the customer and as well as the customers ensure they take their responsibility serious. That is what I have brought to the table. My team is result oriented, enjoys the job and satisfies the customer at all times,” she added.
Touching on the recently introduced Energy Labs, which the PURC believes would reduce customer complaints by 50 percent, Mrs. Ofori noted that so far so good. “All the issues that have come are being addressed with speed. With a new system, we may have a few technical hitches but so far it is moving smoothly.”
The awards ceremony was held under the theme: Excelling in Crisis: The Energy Sector in a COVID-19 Era. Chairman of the GEA Awarding Panel, Dr. Kwame Ampofo noted that the awards scheme was instituted to recognize the hard work of industry practitioners and reward outstanding ones for meritorious service to the country and to its people.
He said the choice of theme was to highlight the “difficult and uncertain physical, emotional and traumatic environment caused by the pandemic that businesses, including those in the energy sector have had to contend with, and get our country going.”
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Energy, John-Peter Amewu, expressed his appreciation for the resilience of stakeholders in the sector. He recounted that the war against COVID-19 in the energy sector has been jointly waged by government and the private sector with complementing efforts. This liaison, he indicated, had resulted in the achievements being celebrated.
He pointed to poignant interventions made by government in terms of inter-utility debt servicing, electricity bill subsidies, upgrade of the transmission network, and the proliferation of renewable energy projects across the country.
The GEA 2020 saw several representatives of government, various heads of organisations and institution of the sector in attendance with the Akwamumanhene of the Akwamu Traditional area, Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III as the Chairman.
