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As electricity tariffs continue to rise, concerns are mounting over the reliability of power supply across the country, prompting fresh questions about value for money and accountability in the energy sector.
Recent comments from the leadership of the Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG, indicate that ongoing power challenges could take between three months and up to two years to fully resolve. The admission has drawn attention to what some observers describe as a contradiction: increasing tariffs while supply remains inconsistent.
The Core Contradiction
At issue is a fundamental question facing consumers and businesses: What are Ghanaians paying for electricity delivered, or the promise of future stability?
“Electricity is not a luxury,” said Baffour Asare Yamoah, author of a public commentary on the matter. “It is the backbone of small businesses, healthcare delivery, food preservation, and industrial productivity.”
When supply is erratic, the impact is immediate. Cold stores lose perishable stock, artisans and welders lose income, students lose study time, and health facilities are forced to rely on costly backup systems.
A Crisis by Another Name
Officials have avoided the term “dumsor” to describe the current situation, instead referencing maintenance, stabilisation, and technical adjustments. Yet outages persist and infrastructure remains strained.
“Call it maintenance. Call it stabilisation. Call it technical adjustment,” Yamoah noted. “But the experience of the Ghanaian is what defines reality, not the terminology of leadership.”
Seven Questions for Energy Leadership
The commentary poses seven questions to the Minister for Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor, and ECG leadership:
1. Pricing: On what basis are tariffs being increased when supply remains inconsistent? If tariffs reflect cost and service delivery, where is the corresponding improvement in service?
2. Value for Money: How is it justified to ask Ghanaians to pay more for electricity they do not consistently receive? Are citizens paying for actual consumption or system inefficiency?
3. Timeline: If stabilisation may take up to two years, why are tariffs not adjusted downward until reliable service is restored? Why must citizens pre-finance a system not yet working?
4. Transparency: If outages are known and long-term, why is there no clear, reliable load-shedding timetable? How are businesses expected to plan amid uncertainty?
5. Accountability: Who takes responsibility for years of underinvestment and structural failures now cited as the cause of the crisis? Why should ordinary Ghanaians bear the financial burden of these failures?
6. Double Standard: Would the current explanation of “temporary challenges” have been accepted by those now in government when they were in opposition? If not, why should Ghanaians accept it today?
7. Justice: Is it fair to increase tariffs on citizens already paying for fuel to run generators due to unreliable electricity? Many Ghanaians, in effect, are paying twice once for electricity and again for alternatives when power fails.
Leadership and Public Trust
The commentary argues that the issue extends beyond policy to leadership. “Leadership is not tested when systems are working. It is tested when they are failing,” Yamoah wrote.
In such moments, he said, citizens expect honesty over rebranding, transparency over technical excuses, and relief rather than increased financial burden.
The Standard of Fairness
“Ghanaians are not unreasonable,” the commentary concludes. “They understand that systems take time to fix. They understand that challenges exist. But they also understand fairness.”
“If you cannot provide stable electricity, you cannot justify increasing its price,” it states. “Anything short of this principle undermines trust, weakens confidence, and places an unfair burden on the very people government is meant to serve.”
The Electricity Company of Ghana and the Ministry of Energy have yet to respond publicly to the specific questions raised. Tariff adjustments remain in effect as the sector works toward what officials describe as long-term stabilisation.
By Baffour Asare Yamoah
