Management Team

Dr. Kow Joseph Essandoh-Yeddu joined the energy sector through the erstwhile National Energy Board in 1989. Starting as an Associate Programme Officer for Solar Energy, he rose through the ranks to Senior Programme Officer till 1999 when he left for Sweden for his master’s degree programme. Upon his return in 2001, he moved to energy planning where he co-led the national and Energy Commission’s team that produced Ghana’s Strategic National Energy Plan 2006 – 2020. He has been the head of the Strategic Planning and Policy Division of the Energy Commission since 2003.

Dr. Essandoh-Yeddu has been a member of Government of Ghana’s negotiating team to the UN Climate Change convention and Kyoto Protocol since 2005. He was a lead author in the IPCC (Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change) Working Group Three of its fifth Assessment Report. Also a member of the IPCC Nobel Laureate Scholarship Technical Committee for selection of applicants, 2015-2017. He was also a peer-reviewer for 2014 IEA (International Energy Agency)’s World and African Energy Outlooks.

He was a member of the Government of Ghana’s Presidential Commission that advised the Government on Potential Use of Nuclear Energy for Power Generation in Ghana in 2007. Also a member, Selection Committee, Millennium Excellence Award-Ghana, Climate Change and Environment Category, 2015 Prize.

Dr. Essandoh-Yeddu has a B.Sc in Physics from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (KNUST, Kumasi) (1981-1985). He holds an MSc Engineering degree in Environment and Energy Planning from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg University in Sweden (1999-2001).

He has his PhD research at the Bureau of Economic Geology of the Jackson School of Geosciences of the University of Texas at Austin in the USA from 2006-2009 where he looked into the economics of geological capture and storage of anthropogenic carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery in Texas Gulf Coast. Whilst in Austin, Texas, he also worked as an energy economist at the Bureau. He received his PhD degree in 2010 from University of Cape Coast. Dr. Essandoh-Yeddu also has post-graduate certificate in Business Administration from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

He authored a book Energy Economic Analysis of Power Plant CO2 Capture and Pipeline Transport in Texas Gulf Coast which is on sale at Amazon.com and major online bookstores. He also contributed the chapter on Natural Gas Market of the book - Advances in Natural Gas Technology (published by InTech Open Science online bookshop which was released in 2012).

Besides his regular job, Dr. Essandoh-Yeddu does part-time teaching too. He is an adjunct lecturer to some institutions in Ghana and Germany. He was a Burns Visiting Scholar to the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada in 2015 and in 2016, also a Visiting Scholar to the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Mr. Kofi Agyarko is an experienced energy efficiency expert whose expertise transcends international borders.

Prior to joining the Energy Commission, He worked as a Professional Associate in SEED Solutions, a consultancy firm that has a specialty in energy management. He played an important role in the deployment of prepayment metering system for both electricity and water in Ghana.

At the Energy Commission, He has assisted in the design and successful implementation of a number of energy efficiency projects. His contribution was critical in the 2007 mass CFL exchange programme in Ghana and the installation of capacitor banks in selected public buildings. He managed the flagship GEF-UNDP funded project on Energy Efficient Refrigerators and Market Transformation in Ghana which yielded annual energy savings of 400GWh.

He has successfully forged and nurtured a collaborative relationship between the Energy Commission and various energy sector stakeholders, and has organized and served as resource person on a number of seminars and workshops on Energy Efficiency and Conservation which have been heavily patronized by the sector stakeholders and industry. He has also served as a resource person on a number of energy efficiency and conservation seminars in Africa and beyond, a regular panelist of IEA Global Energy Efficiency conferences and Vienna Energy Forum (VEF).

He served as a member of the UNEP refrigerator and lighting task force formed in 2015 to develop policy guidelines for accelerated uptake of energy efficient appliances worldwide. He also served as a member of the Energy Efficiency Task Force of the Montreal Protocol Technical and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP). He currently serves as an Interim Steering Committee member of Cool Coalition and the chairman of the Working Group on used products import to Africa. He has been the focal person of ECOWAS Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) since 2010.

By his frequent participation in radio and television interviews and discussions on the Commission’s work and activities, he has succeeded in positioning the Energy Commission as a very credible policy advisor of energy efficiency solutions to the government of Ghana. He has experience in end-use energy analysis, identification of energy saving opportunities and quantification and justification of energy efficiency projects.

His contribution to the body of knowledge in the energy efficiency space, by articles published in reputable journals, is astounding.

Dr. Asante is a Chemical Engineer with over 20 years’ experience in energy management and optimisation.  In his current role, he heads the four core divisions of Ghana’s Energy Commission which deal with the development and enforcement of regulations in the electricity, natural gas and renewable energy sectors, the promotion of Renewable Energy, and the development and execution of initiatives to promote the efficient use of energy.

Dr Asante was previously the Technology Manager of the Energy Optimisation business of Aspen Technology Inc., where he developed tools and implemented solutions for Energy Management and Optimisation at Petrochemical plants all over the world.