- Experts lament ECG challenges
- Seek transparency in the sector
Following the report by the Auditor-General on the state of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), energy experts have decried the challenges affecting the performance of the ECG.
Policy Analyst at the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Justice Kodzo Yaotse, has stated that the losses incurred by the ECG are likely to increase. According to the Auditor-Generals report, the ECG lost 24.30% of the energy generated due to system losses.
”Earlier this year, we did some work on ECG and the losses that they’ve been experiencing for the past few years, and I think the Auditor General’s report only confirms and speaks to the inefficiencies the company has been experiencing,” Yaotse said.
”It is worrying, and it should even be worse by now because this report only covers up to 2019. So, last year a lot happened, and a lot has happened this year also. This year, we know that the losses are growing up to 30% of the business that they do so, it is getting worse by the day,” he added.
Mr Edward Abambire Bawa, a Member of Parliament’s Energy and Mines Committee, has also decried the lack of transparency in the operations of the ECG specifically, in respect of the capacity charges. ”The Chamber of Independent Power Producers came out and said those figures he (Finance Minister) quoted were monies paid for power users and not capacity charges. It tells us that there is some level of lack of transparency.” Bawa said.
Bawa also cited the lack of transparency in the loss percentage with the ECG quoting 26.6% and the Energy Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, stating another. ”in the early part of this year met the World Bank about the losses, and he quoted 31 per cent as the losses.” he said.
Bawa also believes the performance of the ECG is worse than what was reported in the Auditor-Generals 2020 report.