In Ghana’s electricity sector, the search for affordable and reliable power has become an increasingly herculean task. As of January 2026, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has implemented a 9.86% increase in electricity tariffs. This is driven by International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreements, and a generation mix increasingly reliant on thermal power. While these periodic price increases are part of a cost-recovery framework, raising prices year after year without deeper structural reforms merely transfers systemic inefficiencies to consumers. These tariff increases also come on top of the recently introduced Energy Sector Levy (Dumsor-Levy), which was implemented to help repay accumulated energy-sector debt. While the levy is intended to stabilise the power sector’s finances, its effects are ultimately borne by consumers through fuel-related costs.

Without pricing reforms that align electricity costs with the generation mix and timing, Ghana risks repeating this pattern annually. One of the most underutilised tools is the implementation of Time-of-Use (ToU) tariffs, particularly in the context of Ghana’s expanding solar generation and feed-in tariff regime. TOU tariffs simply mean different tariffs at different times of the day. The actual cost of electricity is not constant throughout the day for households. It is higher in the early mornings and evenings when households increase consumption. These peaks force utilities to rely on expensive power plants, which increases the average cost of power.

At present, Ghana is promoting renewable energy, particularly solar, which is already changing the country’s generation mix. Some utilities are investing in utility-scale solar, while industries are installing solar plants for their own use and to take advantage of net metering (exporting excess electricity to the grid). These installations generate their highest output when the sun is strongest. On weekends, the situation becomes more pronounced because many industries and commercial facilities are not operational, but solar energy is still generated and exported to the grid. This creates a fundamental mismatch between the times when electricity is cheapest to produce and when it is most expensive to consume.

Solar energy inherently cannot be stored without the use of expensive batteries. If it is not used upon generation, its economic value is reduced. Yet Ghana’s current tariff structure provides no strong incentive for consumers to increase usage during these solar-rich afternoon hours, particularly on weekends, when industrial export to the grid is highest. This is when TOU pricing becomes important in the whole story. Not by focusing on midnight bundles as the telecos do, but by deliberately making afternoon electricity cheaper, especially on weekends.

If electricity prices reflected the abundance of solar power during these periods, households would naturally shift energy-intensive activities such as ironing, washing, pumping water, charging devices, and cooling to these hours. Ghanaians already understand how price signals shape behaviour. The telecom sector has demonstrated this clearly. When telecommunications operators introduced discounted off-peak data bundles, consumers adjusted their usage patterns almost overnight. People stay awake late, schedule downloads, and reorganise their digital activities. They do this not because they are forced to but because the pricing makes economic sense. Electricity consumers are no different. If ECG prepaid meters offered visibly cheaper electricity between late morning and mid-afternoon, especially on weekends, behaviour would change just as quickly.

Properly designed TOU tariffs offer a rare win-win for both consumers and utilities. By encouraging electricity use during solar-rich afternoon periods, overall demand is spread more evenly across the day, flattening the load profile. This reduces peak stress on transformers, distribution lines, and other critical grid equipment. This extends their lifespan and delays the need for expensive replacements. For consumers, the benefit is immediate and tangible. Access to low-cost electricity during periods when supply is abundant. In this light, households are rewarded for using power when it is cheapest to produce, while utilities save on capital expenditure and emergency generation costs

This approach also complements existing net metering Feed-in Tariff policies rather than undermining them. Feed-in Tariffs encourage investment in renewable energy supply, but TOU tariffs ensure that this energy is actually consumed efficiently within the system. Together, they create a balanced market where both producers and consumers respond to real-time economic signals. One of the biggest challenges in the energy sector is a lack of alignment between pricing, production, and behaviour. Continuing to raise tariffs without correcting this misalignment only deepens public frustration.

A well-designed TOU tariff anchored in low-cost electricity during the afternoon and on weekends offers a promising path forward. It empowers consumers, supports renewable energy, lowers system costs, and shifts peak demand away from the most expensive hours. If telecom companies can reshape national behaviour with midnight bundles, there is no reason the electricity sector cannot do the same. This time, by letting the sun work for the people when it shines the most.

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The writer, Charles Ofori, who is an Energy Consultant, can be reached via email at ocharlesfori@gmail.com