Economist and lecturer, Professor Godfred Bokpin, has called for urgent structural reforms and private sector involvement to ensure long-term sustainability in the energy sector.
Speaking on the sector’s mounting challenges, Prof. Bokpin pointed to significant collection losses, estimated at nearly 15%, which far exceed global benchmarks and threaten the financial viability of electricity distribution. “It’s not sustainable,” he said,
He added that such losses should not be transferred to consumers.
He also criticized the failure of government ministries, departments, and key public institutions to pay their electricity bills, further burdening the system. “You can’t pass on all those losses to the ultimate consumer,” he emphasized.
Prof. Bokpin highlighted other structural issues, including pricing inefficiencies and tariff gaps, stressing the urgent need for reforms in both the financial and operational aspects of the sector.
To improve service delivery and reduce losses, he advocated for private sector participation in downstream electricity distribution.
He proposed a model where the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) remains fully government-owned but operates under a public-private partnership framework, with private players bringing in capital and management expertise.
“This is not about selling ECG, the government should remain the sole shareholder while leveraging private sector efficiency,” he said.
He acknowledged that reform implementation could face political and labor-related challenges but called on Ghanaians to support the initiative, emphasizing that power outages affect everyone, regardless of political affiliation.
