By Grace Zigah
President John Mahama has ruled out the full privatization of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), even as his government considers new models for private sector participation in the utility’s revenue operations.
This comes in the wake of a report submitted by the Private Sector Participation (PSP) Steering Committee, which outlines three potential approaches to reform ECG’s metering and billing systems.
Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, President Mahama revealed that the cabinet will soon evaluate the committee’s proposals.
The key objective, he noted, is to bring efficiency to ECG’s operations without relinquishing state control or excluding Ghanaian stakeholders.
“We just got the report from the committee that’s advising us on how to do it. And they gave us three options,” Mahama said.
Among them is a single national concession for billing and metering, a regional concession model involving multiple partners, and a yet-to-be-disclosed third option.
He emphasized that no decision has been made, adding, “It’s going to come to the cabinet. And the cabinet will decide on which option we’re going for. And then we’ll do an expression of interest.”
Deepening Crisis in Revenue Collection
The reforms come at a time when ECG is grappling with severe revenue shortfalls and technical inefficiencies.
President Mahama pointed out that ECG is losing nearly 40% of its revenue due to technical and commercial inefficiencies, a situation he described as unsustainable.
“I think it’s only a state-owned enterprise that can survive when you’re losing 40% of your revenue,” he stated.
Mahama said addressing this inefficiency is vital for Ghana to meet its obligations to independent power producers and maintain a stable power supply.
While the introduction of private partners is aimed at plugging these leaks and improving collections, Mahama stressed that any international company entering the space must do so in partnership with Ghanaian firms.
“There must be Ghanaian participation. Even if it’s an international company bidding, it must have a local partner,” he said.
Mahama’s assurances come amid lingering concerns from Ghanaians who recall the controversial Power Distribution Services (PDS) concession deal.
In 2019, under the previous government, ECG’s distribution operations were temporarily handed over to PDS.
However, the agreement was terminated just months later due to concerns over the validity of the financial guarantee backing the deal.
The fallout from that episode led to public distrust around future private sector involvement in ECG operations.
