John Abdulai Jinapor
The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, has disclosed that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is currently falling short of its monthly revenue collection target, despite recent reforms aimed at improving revenue efficiency and combating illegal electricity connections.
Answering an urgent question posed by Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, on behalf of the Minority Leader in Parliament yesterday, the Minister said ECG collected GH¢1.6 billion in revenue as of the end of June 2025 – well below the targeted GH¢2.5 billion for the month.
“This represents a remarkable improvement compared to the same period last year,” Mr. Jinapor stated and added, “but we are still not meeting the full target.”
He attributed the revenue challenges partly to illegal electricity connections and commercial losses, which the Ministry and ECG are aggressively tackling through a comprehensive Loss Reduction Programme.
Reforms Underway
Under this initiative, he said ECG had installed 1.2 million smart meter management systems and plans to deploy an additional 2 million meters between 2025 and 2029.
According to him, an extra 1 million meters are also being rolled out in partnership with the World Bank, indicating that these smart meters are expected to ensure accurate billing and real-time tracking of consumption, thereby reducing losses.
Despite these technological improvements, Mr. Jinapor cautioned that the use of smart meters alone does not guarantee reduced losses. “There are still human elements that affect performance, so we’re also strengthening enforcement and accountability,” he added.
Enforcement Measures
The Minister said the ECG had constituted special task forces to identify and prosecute individuals and institutions involved in power theft. He confirmed that estates have been busted for illegal connections, with offenders currently being prosecuted.
To strengthen deterrence, Mr. Jinapor indicated that the Energy Ministry is working on a Legislative Instrument (L.I.) to be submitted to Parliament, which will impose stiffer penalties on those who tamper with or install illegal meters.
Cabinet Directives
As part of revenue recovery, he said Cabinet had directed that all government agencies be placed on prepayment meters or enter into monthly billing agreements with ECG.
According to him, only four categories of institutions – the Presidency, Police Service, Military, Education, and Health sectors – are exempted from prepayment but are still required to pay for power consumed.
Path Forward
The Minister pledged continued support to ECG and called for broader collaboration across government and Parliament. “Cabinet has taken a strong decision. It’s now up to all of us to work together to ensure ECG recovers its revenue and continues to provide reliable power,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the combined reforms, technology deployment, enforcement actions, and stakeholder support will eventually lead to significant improvements in revenue collection, reduced energy losses, and overall efficiency in Ghana’s power distribution sector.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House