The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Ben Boakye has shed light on the challenges plaguing the country's power sector.

Ben Boakye emphasized the need for a more sustainable and efficient approach to address the growing issues.

Speaking on JoyNews' Newsfile, Mr Boakye said due to several inefficiencies, the nation's budget is being "sacrificed" to maintain power describing it as unfair to the Ghanaian people.

He stressed the importance of transforming the power sector into a viable business model where generators, transmitters, and distributors all receive fair compensation for their services.

"The current challenges being experienced in the power sector are really about the inefficiencies," he said on Saturday.

According to him, up to 30 percent or more of the power generated is lost and does not generate any financial value for the distribution company.

He also explained that inefficiencies in the power sector have led to a situation where only about 30 percent of the total value chain's cost is recoverable at the last mile.

"So cumulatively, what you can get at the last mile is about 30 percent at the cost of the value chain. So that 70 percent has to come from somewhere," he told Samson Lardy Anyenini.

The ACEP boss further raised concerns about the recurring reliance on tariff adjustments as a solution to the liquidity challenges, stating that despite a tariff increase of over 100 percent in just a year, the issues persist.

He pointed out that this approach has inadvertently led to an increase in the illicit trade of power, as consumers find ways to avoid paying the higher tariffs.

"… the more you increase the tariffs and try to bill the very few faithful ones, they also try to skip and exit. So illicit trade of power is growing by the day because we think the tariffs are the solution and we keep adjusting it.

"That is why we’ve increased it by over 100 percent in just a year and still the liquidity challenges have not transformed.”

Mr Boakye urged for a comprehensive and sustainable solution that addresses the root causes of inefficiencies in the power sector.

He called for a model where the issue of illegal usage of power is curtailed. And all power generated can be accounted for thus ensuring a reliable and financially stable power sector for the benefit of the Ghanaian people.