As part of reforms aimed at curbing electricity distribution losses and promoting efficiency, Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, has announced that all government agencies except four will soon be migrated from post-paid to prepaid electricity meters.
The move is expected to reduce both technical and commercial losses across the country’s power distribution network.
Ghana’s energy sector is saddled with huge legacy debts, largely due to the inability of the power distributor, Electricity Comapny of Ghana (ECG) to effectively collect revenue from power consumers and effectively share same among stakeholders in the value-chain in accordance with the price waterfall mechanism.
Mr Jinapor who is also the Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu made the disclosure of the floor of Parliament in response to a question filed by the Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Osahen Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, on efforts to address ECG’s system losses.
According to the minister, the transition to prepaid metering is in line with ECG’s Loss Reduction Programme (LRP), which includes a series of interventions to combat illegal connections, metering deficiencies, and poor energy auditing.
Among the major initiatives outlined by the Minister is Boundary Metering, a project to install MMS-compliant meters at all ECG regional and district boundary points.
This, he said, will facilitate detailed upstream and downstream energy audits, helping ECG to pinpoint areas with high losses.
“So far, boundary meters have been installed in five of the ten ECG operational regions: Western, Central, Eastern, Volta, and Tema,” he disclosed, adding that installation in the remaining regions is ongoing.
Another important project under the LRP is Distribution Transformer (DT) Metering. According to the Minister, this involves installing meters on all distribution transformers across ECG’s service areas to enable precise audits and enhance load management.
“Out of a total of 30,000 DT meters required, 3,349 have already been installed,” Mr Jinapor stated.
He added that the Ministry is fast-tracking the release of additional meters held up at the ports to allow the contractor to speed up installation.
The minister also mentioned the adoption of Flat Rate Billing for customers without meters, either due to delays after payment or because of faulty meters awaiting replacement.
He emphasized that while this is a temporary measure, it is critical in preventing illegal connections and unaccounted electricity sales, stating “This interim solution helps minimize commercial losses and discourages customers from resorting to unlawful connections”.
The planned migration of government agencies to prepaid meters, he noted, would enhance transparency, promote energy conservation, and help ECG recover revenue that is often lost due to unpaid bills or unmetered consumption.
As Ghana grapples with energy sector challenges, the Ministry says it remains committed to reforming power management and ensuring the sustainability of ECG’s operations.
