Dr. John Kinapor (3rd L) during the launch
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) would from the end of this month replace 1,500 obsolete transformers as part of measures to ensure stable power supply, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Dr. John Jinapor has disclosed.
The move, he said forms part of the government’s effort to solve the challenges confronting the energy sector, including years of under investment in transformers nationwide, making them obsolete hence unable to withstand pressure.
He said he has consulted the Minister of Finance who has agreed to purchase 1,500 new transformers for ECG as the power distributor puts in measures to ensure Ghanaians have stable power supply, which ultimately results in more revenue for the company.
He, however, urged Ghanaians to bear with ECG noting that when the replacement begins, there would be localised power outages during the period. He said the outages would be announced ahead of the replacement.
Dr. Jinapor was speaking at the official launch of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Corporate Strategy (2025-2029).
The 5-year strategy is anchored on six strategic pillars – corporate strategy execution and governance, customer engagement and experience, operational efficiency and infrastructure optimisation, risk, security and compliance, as well as revenue mobilisation and diversification.
He said ECG’s corporate strategy signified a renewed commitment to the country’s electricity sector as it seeks to modernise the distribution sub-sector, improve efficiency, ensure financial viability and sustainability, but most importantly, to develop a customer-centred utility capable of supporting Ghana’s national development.
“We seek to advance our energy transition as well. We seek to improve the financial health and well being of the sector, expand renewable energy development, and modernise our electricity infrastructure,” he said.
In spite of some improvements that have been made in recent years, Dr. Jinapor observed that the nation’s power sector stands at a critical moment as electricity demand continued to grow exponentially with the expansion of the economy and the emergence of new industries.
He tasked ECG to ensure that customers, including government agencies are actually paying for the power they consume to avoid the situation where a few people are paying for the service others are not paying for, ultimately resulting in higher tariffs.
Dr. Jinapor disclosed that he has given ECG the “free will” to disconnect government agencies that are not paying for power consumed, noting that government agencies “must also do what the private sector is doing.”
He said the only institutions they might be exempted, should include theatre, children’s ward and critical institutions, insisting that even with them, the Minister of Finance must make provisions for them “because other countries are doing it, we must do it too.”
Acting Managing Director of ECG, Julius Kpekpena said strategic planning has long guided the operations of ECG.
He indicated that the formal practice started in 1988 and has played a critical role in shaping the company’s priorities and responses to the evolving challenges of providing reliable electricity to support Ghana’s economic growth.
Chairman of the Board of ECG, William Amuna, who chaired the launch, said the vision requires discipline, clarity of purpose and alignment between policy direction and operational execution. “We, therefore, expect this strategy to serve as the foundation for several key policy priorities.”
BY Gibril Abdul Razak