Energy Sector: ACEP, OSF and Energy Ministry High-Level Dialogue Highlights Urgent Need for Sustainable Solutions to Inefficiencies Costing Ghana 2% of GDP
The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), in collaboration with the Open Society Foundations (OSF) and the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, convened a high-level dialogue to address the persistent challenges facing Ghana’s energy sector and their impact on the national economy.
The dialogue acknowledged that inefficiencies and structural issues in the energy sector continue to impose a significant fiscal burden on the country, with under-recoveries estimated at about 2 per cent of GDP, equivalent to four times the country’s annual capital investment in infrastructure.
This reality underscores the urgency for lasting solutions to ensure the sector’s viability and its contribution to national development.
Participants recognised the government’s ongoing efforts to address these problems and reaffirmed the importance of ensuring a sustainable and reliable power system while freeing much-needed capital for development priorities to transform the economy.
Key initiatives include the renegotiation of IPP contracts, private sector participation in electricity distribution, a renewed focus on the green energy transition, and improved procurement efficiency across sector institutions.
The dialogue further emphasised that addressing these challenges presents an opportunity to unlock greater investment for social and economic development, while advancing a just and inclusive energy transition.
Participants also highlighted the importance of diversifying energy sources, accelerating progress in green transition efforts, and embedding gender equity and climate justice at the core of policy solutions and sector reforms.
The meeting concluded with a strong call for collaborative action among all stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector actors, civil society, development partners, and philanthropy organisations, to work together in the spirit of transparency and accountability, to sustain and amplify the government’s efforts in reforming the energy sector for the benefit of all Ghanaians.
