Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) is confronting escalating financial distress, operational headwinds, and governance concerns as its senior staff warn that the country’s state-owned power transmission operator risks long-term decline without immediate structural reform and closer alignment between labor and executive leadership.
The warning, issued by the Senior Staff Association (SSA) at its 7th Biennial Delegates Congress in Tamale, spotlights a growing unease over falling revenues and strategic drift. Key among the Association’s concerns is the rising uptake of embedded power generation, the use of self-produced electricity by households and businesses, which is siphoning demand from GRIDCo’s national grid infrastructure and compounding its fiscal instability.
“The SSA’s role as a stakeholder in enhancing productivity and building a sustainable energy future has never been more crucial,” SSA Chairman Wisdom Kojo Adenyo told attendees.
“We must work collaboratively to respond to the impact of embedded generation and other systemic challenges undermining GRIDCo’s financial health.”
The Association cited a confluence of fiscal and operational pressures, including growing debt exposure, foreign exchange losses, and deteriorating infrastructure, as core risks to GRIDCo’s mandate. The company, which operates Ghana’s transmission network, has been under strain from deferred investments, delayed payments from utilities, and a constrained capital environment.
Held under the theme “Forging Partnership for a Resilient and Sustainable Energy Future,” the Congress convened grid professionals and policy stakeholders to evaluate sectoral shifts and recommend reform priorities. Among the SSA’s proposed measures include;
- Full implementation of the Cash Waterfall Mechanism to streamline payment distribution in the energy value chain,
- Expedited debt recovery from high-liability clients such as the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)
- Securing import duty waivers on essential transmission equipment
- Optimization of energy trading revenues
- Accelerated investment in grid modernization and digital infrastructure
Beyond structural constraints, the SSA also voiced concerns over internal governance, citing declining morale linked to recruitment practices that favor external candidates over experienced internal staff.
“This trend violates our Conditions of Service and risks demotivating our workforce. It also burdens the company’s wage bill at a time when cash flow is already a critical issue,” the Association cautioned.
SSA Chairman Adenyo called on GRIDCo’s leadership to restore trust through transparent governance, equitable human resource practices, and deeper workforce engagement.
“Our survival as a company and as professionals hinges on how well we respond to these challenges together,” he concluded.
The statement adds pressure on GRIDCo’s executive team and Ghana’s energy policymakers to deliver a coherent turnaround plan as the country contends with broader infrastructure deficits and an evolving energy mix.
