As part of measures outlined by the governing NPP to ease the cost of living burden on Ghanaians if retained in government, the flagbearer says Ghanaians stand the chance of enjoying up to 50% reduction in electricity tariffs.
According to the NPP, they recognize the high cost of electricity and how it is taking a toll on the incomes of Ghanaians in addition to poor services rendered by the energy sector.
Speaking at the 2024 NPP Manifesto Insights event, themed “Reducing Cost of Living—Bawumia’s Plan,” in Accra on Wednesday, Energy Analyst and spokesperson on Energy and Power in the NPP Manifesto, Mr Kojo Poku emphasized that the next Dr. Bawumia’s government will prioritize achieving affordable, reliable and quality service in the country’s energy sector.
Kojo Poku says to achieve affordability, Dr. Bawumia’s government will improve the country’s energy mix by installing 2000MW of solar power within four years.
He explains that Ghana’s current power mix is dominated by thermal which is heavily dependent on oil and gas. The high cost of oil and gas to power the thermal plants adds to the high electricity tariff building. With the significant transition to solar power, the reliance on oil and gas is set to reduce hence paving the way for the reduction in electricity tariffs.
The energy analyst explained that Dr. Bawumia’s government will introduce an “affordable, reliable and quality power supply for all Ghanaians, through the rollout of 2000MW of utility solar power in four years to reduce our dependence on oil and gas. This policy would see the reduction of electricity tariff of up to 50%.”
To achieve service quality in the sector, Kojo Poku further hinted that it is the vision of Dr. to reintroduce the participation of the private sector in the operations of ECG.
He justified that the widespread dissatisfaction with the operations of ECG such as faulty metering, difficulty in obtaining meters, and delayed response to reported faults among others calls for the need for private sector participation (PSP) to manage the retail aspect of ECG’s operations.
According to him, this move would allow private companies to handle metering and customer service, thereby enhancing the quality of service that Ghanaians expect from the electricity sector.
“Good customer service and reliability in our power sector is important to Ghanaians. Introduce Private Sector Participation (PSP) into the operations of Electricity of Company of Ghana to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction,” Kojo Poku justified.
It should be noted that the current NPP government in 2019 introduced private sector participation in the operations of ECG but was not successful. The Power Distribution Services (PDS) took over the assets of the ECG for the distribution of electricity in the southern sector of the country.
After some months of operations, a forensic audit conducted by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and Government of Ghana’s investigations into the issuance of Demand Guarantees for the Concession Transaction, revealed that the Payment Security for the Transaction was invalid leading to the termination of the contract.
The investigations reaffirmed the earlier report that there was no approval by Competent Signatories to the Demand Guarantees issued by Al-Koot in Qatar, therefore, the Transaction lacked the required authorization and approval of the company.
