Cabinet to decide on options of private participation in ECG - Ghana Business News

**John Jinapor**

Cabinet will soon discuss three options for private sector involvement in the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). The options are: Entity concession, multiple lease, and service franchise.

After this discussion, a project implementation committee will be formed. They will also hire a transaction advisor to ensure transparency and local participation.

Mr. John Abdulai Jinapor, Minister of Energy and Green Transition, shared this news on Wednesday. He received a report from a seven-member committee exploring private sector options for ECG.

The goal is to address financial and operational inefficiencies. This aims to ensure reliable and affordable electricity supply. Mr. Jinapor noted that ECG incurs over GH¢1 billion in monthly deficits. These deficits affect the entire power sector.

“Clearly, something must be done,” he stated. “Our goal is to reform the sector, improve efficiency, and increase revenue collection.”

Mr. Jabesh Amisah-Arthur chairs the committee that consulted about 285 individuals and 35 organizations. They assessed challenges facing ECG during their investigation.

The team identified nine major issues grouped into four areas: Governance and Management, Operational Inefficiencies, Financial Challenges, and Customer Dissatisfaction.

Mr. Amisah-Arthur explained that operational inefficiencies include high commercial losses and technical losses. Financial challenges involve foreign exchange losses and tariff gaps. There are widespread complaints about ECG services from customers.

After evaluating eight private sector participation models, the team made recommendations:
1. Single Private Operator Model – One entity manages ECG’s operations.
2. Multiple Lease Model – ECG divided into regional units managed by different operators.
3. Service Franchise Model – Private sector manages low-voltage distribution.

“We identified nine major challenges impacting distribution facilities,” he said. These challenges were categorized into four groups.

The first group involves administrative issues like governance problems and management issues along with procurement problems.

The committee also found operational issues hindering performance leading to high losses in both commercial collection and technical aspects.