President John Dramani Mahama has outlined urgent measures to stabilize Ghana’s struggling energy sector, citing unsustainable debt, financial mismanagement, and delayed maintenance as key challenges.
Delivering the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament, the President revealed that his administration inherited an energy sector on the brink of collapse, burdened with a staggering GH₵70 billion debt as of December 2024.
“Despite collecting over GH₵45 billion in Energy Sector Levies (ESLA) over the last eight years, the outgoing administration has left the Ghanaian people with a heavily indebted energy sector,” he stated. He warned that unless swift interventions are made, several state-owned enterprises in the sector could face imminent collapse.
President Mahama also pointed out that the pigging postponment of the West African Gas Pipeline maintenance activity that was delayed from 2024 to 2025 without sufficient contingency planning disrupted gas supply and worsened Ghana’s power generation challenges.
“My administration has had to swiftly mobilize resources to secure emergency fuel supplies to ensure continuous electricity generation despite the closure of the West African Gas Pipeline,” he announced.
He assured the nation that the pigging exercise is expected to be completed in the first week of March, allowing additional gas to flow from Nigeria and significantly improving power stability.
To restore financial stability and efficiency, President Mahama directed the Minister for Energy and Green Transition to implement far-reaching reforms, including:
Enforcing a single revenue collection account to improve transparency and accountability.
Strict adherence to the cash waterfall mechanism to ensure fair distribution of revenue among power sector players.
Eliminating wasteful expenditure by state utility companies to cut inefficiencies and financial losses.
Additionally, President Mahama announced the creation of an advisory committee to guide private sector participation in metering and billing, aimed at improving revenue collection and reducing high commercial and technical losses.
Citing a successful pilot partnership between the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Enclave Power Limited, President Mahama highlighted its effectiveness in ensuring 99% revenue collection and nearly 100% uptime in power supply.
“This model has worked right here in Ghana. We can scale it nationwide to improve revenue compliance and ultimately reduce tariffs for our people,” he stated. He emphasized that cutting commercial and technical losses would lead to more affordable electricity tariffs and bring much-needed relief to consumers.
President Mahama expressed confidence in Ghana’s ability to overcome the energy crisis through decisive action and national cooperation.
“While the current state of our energy sector is deeply concerning, we must remain resolute in our commitment to restoring stability,” he affirmed.
President John Dramani Mahama administration is focus on transparency, private-sector involvement, and structural reforms signals a new era for Ghana’s energy sector, aimed at ensuring reliable and affordable power for all.
Story by Freedom Lavoe.
