Energy expert Lom Nuku Ahlijah has called for increased private-sector participation in Ghana’s power distribution system as part of efforts to address the country’s persistent electricity challenges, widely known as dumsor.

Speaking on Prime Insight on Joy Prime on Saturday, 2 May, Mr Ahlijah said private participation has long been a central theme in discussions on reforming the energy sector and should be revisited.

“My personal view is to do participation, private participation. A lot of the conversations that have gone around this matter in the last decade have also been around that point,” he said.

He cited the Power Distribution Services (PDS) arrangement as an example of a model that, despite its failure, demonstrated the potential for private involvement in the sector.

“For example, the PDS deal that did not go through eventually was a participation. ECG was still in the picture, owning the distribution assets and handling maintenance and so on, but then PDS was to take over the operational commercial aspect of it,” he explained.

Mr Ahlijah argued that the concept remains viable, particularly in light of the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) performance over the years.

“It is a good idea for us to explore at this time because this 25 per cent we are talking about… ECG, as a public institution, can also be given targets to do that, but we’ve seen the records in the last decade that it hasn’t significantly dealt with the issue,” he said.

He noted that introducing private operators could help reduce system losses by tying performance to measurable targets and financial incentives.

“If you are engaging a private player to come into that space, you can set a target for how you reduce that 25 per cent and tie it to some kind of compensation arrangement,” he said.
“Private people are looking for money, so they’ll find solutions and mechanisms for that,” he added.

Mr Ahlijah further indicated that current discussions appear to be shifting towards restructuring ECG’s operations to allow broader participation.

“Presently, the discussion around private participation is to look at breaking up the ECG area into smaller concessions. ECG is in charge of the entire southern sector of Ghana… and it’s a huge area,” he said.

According to him, the scale of ECG’s operations may be contributing to inefficiencies and delays in service delivery.

“All these things we are discussing today about transformer upgrades and how long it will take… ECG has a huge assignment,” he noted.

“So, allowing other players to come in to handle different segments of the ECG concession area can be considered.”

While acknowledging resistance from organised labour, particularly the Trades Union Congress, Mr Ahlijah maintained that the focus should remain on improving outcomes in the sector.

“It should be discussed fully. We’ve seen that the Trades Union Congress is resisting… but the truth is that the results show that ECG alone is not delivering on it. So there should be a need for private players to also be part of the conversation,” he said.