ACEP Calls for Overhaul of ECG Management; Audit of Hubtel Contract With ECG
The African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has called for urgent reforms at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), citing severe financial mismanagement that has exacerbated the utility’s losses and threatens to create a significant fiscal burden for the state.
In a statement released on Thursday, September 19, ACEP recommended sweeping changes to regulatory oversight and management at the state-owned power distributor.
ACEP urged the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to take immediate action by enforcing stricter oversight of ECG’s revenue collection and expenditure. The think tank highlighted the need for visibility over payments across the value chain and other expenditures that could undermine the sustainability of the sector.
A key recommendation was for PURC to audit ECG’s contract with Hubtel, a payment services provider, to assess discrepancies in cash values reported by both entities. This, ACEP argued, was critical to ensuring value for money in the contract and addressing any potential irregularities.
Additionally, ACEP called for the immediate removal of ECG’s current management, arguing that the leadership has failed to stem the company’s mounting financial losses. The utility’s financial shortfall has ballooned from GHS 295 million in 2017 to GHS 9.7 billion by 2022.
According to ACEP, data from PURC shows that ECG experienced under-recoveries of GHS 13.6 billion between August 2023 and July 2024, with an alarming revenue collection rate of just 43% over this period.
Furthermore, ACEP cited the Energy Sector Recovery Program, which estimates that power sector shortfalls between 2019 and 2023 amounted to approximately US$8.25 billion—a figure ACEP described as an unsustainable drain on public resources.
The think tank’s recommendations reflect growing concerns about the inefficiencies within Ghana’s energy sector and the mounting fiscal pressure they are placing on the economy.
