The Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Dr Shaffic Suleman, says Ghana’s electricity demand is rising far beyond official projections, driven by economic stability and growing consumer confidence.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, he revealed that consumption growth has overtaken the expected annual targets.

“We are now consuming more power beyond what has been projected,” he said.

“We are looking at an annual projection of 8% per annum, but I can assure you that we are moving. We are moving far faster than that.”

Dr Suleman attributed the surge to improved power supply reliability and renewed economic activity.

“And it’s because of the stability and availability of power, and then the suppressed demand is now being curtailed, so more consumers are coming on board generally, thanks to the stability of the economy.”

His comments come amid discussions about the government’s proposed 24-hour economy policy and its potential impact on electricity demand.

When asked whether the country could handle the additional load if the 24-hour economy took off, he signalled the urgency of expanding generation capacity.

“So we have to be fast with additional capacity.”

He said efforts are underway at the highest levels of government to address the situation.

“President Mahama and the Minister of Energy, John Jinapor, are working towards adding additional capacity and ensuring that we have enough.”

According to him, the country’s power dynamics have shifted significantly.

“Peak load is also experiencing targets or points that we are not familiar with, and obviously, the economy is growing, so we need power.”

He maintained that supply is currently stable but stressed the need for forward planning.

“Power is available, so all we need to do now is to think of how best or how fast we can get additional capacity to come in and supplement, especially going towards 2027 to 29.”