Thinking the high cost of electricity in Ghana only hits your wallet through high bills, while the erratic supply is only seen in the disrupted service, it goes deeper than that.
The cost of electricity is not just hitting homes and factories; it is also quietly draining your wallet every time you buy data to access the internet.
A new policy brief by IMANI Africa, the country’s unreliable and expensive power supply is one of the biggest obstacles to building a strong, homegrown digital economy with cheaper internet costs. It’s the hidden reason Ghanaian internet users continue to pay more for data than people in countries with similar income levels.
IMANI, in its latest brief, explains that every app, website, or online service you use must be stored somewhere, technically called data centers. These facilities need a constant, stable electricity supply to keep servers running 24/7. But unfortunately, in Ghana, where the national grid suffers frequent power cuts and voltage fluctuations, operators have to depend heavily on diesel generators and other backup systems to stay online.
Those generators guzzle fuel and cost a fortune to maintain. Add that to already high industrial electricity tariffs, and it becomes clear and makes economic sense why running a data center here is far more expensive than in places like Europe or South Africa.
Faced with these costs, many Ghanaian businesses and startups prefer to host their websites and apps abroad, where electricity is cheaper and power supply is steady.
What this means is that when you open a Ghanaian app or visit a local company’s website, your internet traffic often has to travel outside the country and back. This process, the experts call “tromboning.”
The longer distance doesn’t just slow connections; it increases costs for internet service providers, who in turn pass them on to consumers. In essence, Ghanaians are paying a “power penalty” every time they go online.
“Unfortunately, Ghana’s power grid is plagued by frequent interruptions and instability. This forces every data center to invest heavily in expensive backup systems, including diesel generators, which dramatically increases both construction and operational costs,” IMANI’s brief indicated.
It added that, “Compounded by high industrial electricity tariffs, this makes it more expensive and riskier to host a digital service in Ghana compared to Europe or South Africa.”
IMANI warns that until Ghana tackles the energy problem, digital inclusion will remain out of reach for many. A reliable power grid, the think tank argues, is not only key to cheaper data but also vital to creating jobs and building a modern, tech-driven economy.
“Ghana’s digital economy is effectively being exported. When a Ghanaian user accesses this “Ghanaian” app, their traffic must travel internationally, reinforcing the tromboning effect and weakening the very business case for local peering,” the think tank maintained.
It added that, “the power issue is not just an inconvenience; it is a strategic barrier that actively prevents the localization of our digital ecosystem.”
IMANI’s point suggests that the fight for affordable internet isn’t just about fiber cables or mobile towers; it starts with keeping the lights on and also making it affordable.
