A review of the trends in Ghana’s power sector
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A review of the trends in Ghana’s power sector Maame Esi Eshun* and Joe Amoako-Tuffour
Abstract Power generation in Ghana has gone through a number of phases: starting with diesel generators and stand-alone electricity supply systems owned by industrial mines and factories, to the hydro phase following the construction of the Akosombo dam, and now to a thermal complement phase powered by gas and/or light crude oil. A power crisis has also become a perennial development challenge in Ghana, with increasing severity that threatens the country’s economic growth and transformation. The troubling rationing system, the slowdown in industrial activity, job and income losses, and disruptions in social life are telling reminders of what now seems a perennial drag on Ghana’s development agenda. While Ghana has committed itself to universal electricity access by 2020, the real challenge is the capacity to meet this goal and, most important, to ensure that supply is reliable and adequate. This paper outlines the state of current electricity demand and supply gap and the major impediments to resolving the supply bottlenecks and in managing demand, highlights institutional and regulatory constraints, and identifies some key issues that should be the focus of policy decision-making going forward. Keywords: Energy supply, Energy demand, Supply capacity, Energy policy, Ghana
Review Access to electricity, coupled with aggressive industrialization, is a key component in achieving sound economic development. Electricity is needed to maintain law and order, security, and stability [1]. From an economic point of view, the production of all goods and services and the development of economic infrastructure all depend on a reliable and sustainable supply of electrical energy. Electricity generation in Ghana has gone through a number of phases: starting with diesel generators and stand-alone electricity supply systems owned by industrial mines and factories, to the hydro phase following the construction of the Akosombo dam, and now to a thermal complement phase powered by gas and/or light crude oil. An electricity crisis has also become a perennial development challenge in Ghana, with increasing severity that threatens the country’s economic growth and transformation. The troubling rationing system, the slowdown in industrial activity, job and income losses, and disruptions in social life are telling reminders of * Correspondence: [email protected] Research Department, African Center for Economic Transformation, Accra, Ghana
what now seems a perennial drag on Ghana’s development agenda. The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) in 2014 estimated Ghana to lose between $320 million and $924 million per annum in productivity and economic growth due to the current power crises [2]. The Wholesale Power Reliability Assessment report (2010) also estimated that Ghana loses between 2 and 6 % of gross domestic product (GDP) annually due to inadequate and unreliable power supply.1 Thus, with the
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