The Ghanaian government has announced plans to hand over key functions of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), particularly power distribution and revenue mobilisation, to a private sector partner. This move is aimed at improving operational efficiency and addressing financial challenges within the energy sector.
Deputy Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Richard Gyan-Mensah, disclosed the plan during the ECG Vendors Forum in Accra. He clarified that the initiative is not a full privatisation of ECG but rather a private sector participation (PSP) model designed to attract investment, introduce innovation, and curb inefficiencies.
“We are partnering with the private sector to build a resilient energy industry that supports economic growth. However, government will ensure Ghanaian consumers are not short-changed,” Gyan-Mensah assured.
The decision follows persistent issues in the energy sector, including widespread power theft and revenue leakage, which have significantly affected ECG’s financial stability. The new PSP arrangement is expected to leverage technical expertise and operational efficiency from the private sector to tackle these problems.
Technical Committee to Oversee Transition
To ensure a smooth transition, the Ministry of Energy has set up a technical committee tasked with assessing proposals from interested private entities and selecting the most suitable partner. The government insists that transparency and accountability will be key in the process.
Gyan-Mensah highlighted that while private sector involvement offers solutions, long-term success will depend on effective collaboration between public and private stakeholders.
Digital Innovation in Revenue Collection
The ECG Vendors Forum also shed light on ECG’s ongoing digital transformation efforts. The forum, which brought together over 350 vendors, ECG officials, and tech partner TextGenesys Ltd. (TGL Systems), focused on ECG’s ‘Unfield Vending’ platform.
Developed in partnership with GCB Bank, the system has modernised power credit purchases, allowing vendors to self-redeem commissions while ECG tracks payments in real-time. This innovation is credited with enhancing transparency and streamlining bill payments for millions of customers.
TGL Systems Managing Director, Jeremiah Brown-Coleman, described the platform as a game-changer in ECG’s revenue collection mechanisms:
“This digital solution simplifies the revenue collection process and ensures secure, real-time reconciliation. Most importantly, it strengthens ECG’s revenue collection mechanisms,” he stated.
ECG Managing Director, Julius Kwame Kpekpena, hailed the forum as a pivotal moment for the company’s transformation:
“This marks a new chapter of inclusivity, professionalism, and innovation within ECG’s revenue collection ecosystem,” he noted.