The Deputy Director in charge of Power at the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, Sulemana Abubakar, has acknowledged that Ghana currently lacks a fully efficient energy value chain, contributing to the country’s power supply challenges.
Speaking at the JoyNews National Dialogue on Thursday, April 10, Mr. Abubakar highlighted the government’s goal to ensure an uninterrupted power supply and affordable petroleum products for households and transportation. However, he emphasized that achieving these goals is only possible with an efficient energy sector.
“It is the wish of the government that we have an uninterrupted supply of power, and petroleum products are affordable, so that we keep the lights on and vehicles moving,” he stated.
Mr. Abubakar explained that Ghana’s energy sector was originally vertically integrated. However, reforms aimed at improving efficiency led to the unbundling of key segments — generation, transmission, and distribution — with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) now handling distribution.
“To have an efficient energy sector, we need efficient generation, efficient transmission, and efficient distribution,” Mr. Abubakar emphasized.
Despite these reforms, he noted that the current system does not fully meet these ideals. “Unfortunately, we do not have a fully efficient co-value chain system,” he said, acknowledging that the distribution segment continues to face numerous challenges.
“These inefficiencies within distribution are manifesting in some of the power supply challenges we are experiencing now,” he added.
However, Mr. Abubakar reassured the public that the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition is actively reviewing strategies to address these challenges and create an enabling environment for improvement.
ALSO READ: