Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh on Tuesday (28 February) inaugurated the GIMPA-PURC Centre of Excellence in Public Utility Regulation (CEPUR) at the GIMPA executive conference centre.
Speaking at the event Prempeh reminded the gathering of the need for academia and industry to take the call to research seriously.
The minister called for a deeper nexus of industry and the corporate world to engage in quality and strategic studies aimed at finding practical solutions to real issues and actualise research findings to develop our economy.
“The decision by the PURC and GIMPA to establish a Centre of Excellence in Public Utility Regulation; an institutional collaboration to promote and develop competencies and expertise in economic regulation for the electricity, water, natural gas, and other public utility service sectors, is timely and relevant,” he said.
This, Prempeh said is because, emerging dynamics in the energy sector including the energy transition and energy security concerns, require a competent and skillful workforce that is ready to help position Ghana and Africa to secure sustainable outcomes for future generations.
“I urge CEPUR to develop robust programs that will meet the contemporary trends in utility regulation and will also be time tested to suit the dynamics of future trends and requirements,” he added.
“Whilst I congratulate the PURC and GIMPA on the occasion of the launch of the Centre of Excellence in Public Utility Regulation (CEPUR) and also, PURC’s 25th anniversary which was marked in October last year, I have no doubt that the PURC will challenge itself even more to attain higher laurels in the coming years, so as to consolidate its current place among utility regulators in Africa,” he said.