Nana Amoasi VII, the Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Security (IES), emphasized that the privatization of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is long overdue.
There has been a growing chorus of voices calling for the privatization of the ECG, especially in light of the recent surge in power outages.
During an interview on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Monday, the Executive Director of IES disclosed that a previous attempt to commence the privatization process was unsuccessful.
He noted that the ECG is losing more than 30% of the power it receives from Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), a significant loss that ultimately affects consumers as well.
Nana Amoasi VII also highlighted other pressing issues in the power sector that require attention.
However, he pointed out that the private sector, with its access to the capital market and its competency and efficiency, could potentially offer solutions. He emphasized the importance of the country determining the type of privatization it aims for and strategizing accordingly to achieve its goals.
“It is long overdue. Long overdue and I think that we attempted one form, and we frustrated our own initiative. Today ECG through technical and commercial reading is losing more than 30% of the power they inherit from GRDCo the transmitter and that is a loss.
“Some of these losses will be factored into the tariffs that we pay and that means that we will be paying for somebody’s inefficiency, you and I to some extent. The next is that we don’t have a robust distribution grid, we don’t have a strong distribution grid. It must be invested into. The next is that we are struggling to collect the bills, raise the needed revenue at the end of the value chain and pay the other players within the chain.”
“These are issues that must be addressed. We are struggling today as a power sector because of our 1.5 billion debts impacting negatively on fuel supply and also on unplanned maintenance. Where are we going to get this investment into ECG when we know that already the sector is debt-ridden?
“The private sector has access to the capital market, the private sector comes in with some form of competence and efficiency because they are more profit-oriented and driven and therefore, they will produce or put forward all the technology and innovation necessary to run efficiently and effectively the ECG.