Ghanaians will begin paying the new One Cedi Energy Sector Recovery Levy on fuel purchases starting Monday, July 14, the Ministry of Energy has confirmed, describing it as an essential step to stabilise power supply and reduce mounting sector debt.
Originally, the levy was scheduled to take effect on June 16 but was postponed due to the regional economic impact of the Iran war and uncertainty over fuel shipments. Authorities delayed the implementation until after a ceasefire. A second target date of July 16 was also considered before the Ministry confirmed the start date of July 14.
The GH₵1-per-litre levy is projected to raise around GHS 5 billion, supporting fuel procurement and clearing arrears owed to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), some of whom have threatened to shut down plants over unpaid invoices.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Super Morning Show, Richmond Rockson, spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, called for collective responsibility and sacrifice to prevent a crisis.
“We’ll start on Monday,” he confirmed. “It’s not just the power sector. When I say the energy sector, I mean the petroleum sector as well, or the downstream, upstream. And it will take all of us as citizens to sacrifice to be able to bring the sector back.”
Rockson recalled the difficult state of the sector late last year, citing fuel shortages and widespread load shedding.
“In December 2024… we were shedding loads at over 700 megawatts. At the time this government took office, there was no liquid fuel to be able to power a power plant.”
He added that part of the recovery effort includes replacing malfunctioning infrastructure with locally manufactured transformers to improve reliability.
“We had zero transformers. Zero. The Minister directed ECG to purchase them… and they were purchased in Ghana. They were not imported.”
According to the Ministry, Ghana’s energy sector debt stood at over GHS 80 billion, with $1.79 billion owed to IPPs alone, but has since declined to GHS 67 billion following fiscal interventions.
Despite public concerns about the impact on fuel costs, officials maintain the levy is a necessary short-term measure to avoid blackouts, restore generation capacity, and safeguard the country’s energy future.
