Ghana appoints a transaction adviser to bring private operators into ECG by 2027
Ghana’s Finance Ministry has engaged a transaction adviser to structure private sector participation in the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company, announced by the Finance Minister at the Mid-Year Budget Review. Dr Theo Acheampong, technical adviser at the ministry, has said participation will begin by early 2027 and that restructuring would move before the end of this year.
The government has been consistent that this is not a sale. A statement from the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition in December 2025 described the approved framework as multiple concession arrangements deploying private expertise into specific operational areas, with the state retaining ownership.
The Public Utilities Workers Union objected in a statement on 3 August. General Secretary Timothy Nyame argued that measures already taken by the ministry have improved performance, that other countries are adopting Ghana’s model, and that the union had submitted an alternative proposal before the adviser was appointed.
Pressure to move comes partly from the International Monetary Fund. A staff team led by Ruben Atoyan visited Accra between 29 April and 15 May for the sixth and final review of Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility, and said priority in the energy sector should go to “tackling distribution and collection losses” at ECG, alongside payment discipline, clearing legacy arrears and reducing generation costs. Ghana has since moved onto a thirty-six month Policy Coordination Instrument.
ECG’s technical and commercial losses have averaged 28 to 31 per cent of the electricity it receives from GRIDCo, against international best practice of around 8 per cent.
Ghana has attempted this once. In 2018, after competitive bidding, the government contracted Power Distribution Service to operate ECG’s networks for twenty years, a requirement of the second Millennium Challenge Compact and its $498 million grant, which made private involvement in distribution a condition of full funding. The concession collapsed before meaningful operations began.
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