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1. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2681030
1
ANALYSING THE UTILITY OF GHANA’S NEW RENEWABLE
ENERGY ACT AS CATALYST FOR SWITCHING ON THE LIGHTS
FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
NASIR ALFA MOHAMMED
[BA, LL.B, BL (Ghana); LL.M (Dundee)]
Petroleum Legal Consultant.
monasalfa@gmail.com
Ishmael Ackah, PhD
Head of Policy Unit,
Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Accra Ghana
And KNUST, Kumasi
Ackish85@yahoo.com

2. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2681030
2
ABSTRACT:
Electricity is an important energy carrier which, like other energy carriers, faces unprecedented uncertainty and
price volatility due to change in supply and demand patterns. Among others, market conditions have overtime
transformed a capacity excess Ghanaian electricity regime of the 1970s into a capacity short regime in recent
times, even in the face of a perfect blend of conventional and renewable energy resources. Since the 1980’s when
Ghana started experiencing signs of capacity shortage – due to serious drought resulting from her overdependence
on hydropower – the country has been trying different options, including investing in renewable energy (RE)
sources. In her bid to keeping the lights on, Ghana has particularly strengthened her commitment to renewables
through the passage of a new RE Act which places premium on deploying 10% of renewables in her energy mix
by 2020. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which this new RE Act can help Ghana mitigate its
current power crisis as well as contribute towards keeping the lights on to assure Ghanaians and the investor
community the needed security of electricity supply for national development. This is done by auditing the
provisions of the Act vis-à-vis the best global practices of deploying renewables. The result is that although the
Act promises a good complementary regime for assuring security of supply, Ghana will need to assume an
overarching approach that would integrate all available and cost-effective energy sources in its electricity mix if
it is to keep the lights on and guarantee both sufficiency and affordability of electricity supply in the foreseeable
future.
Renewable Energy Law, Energy Demand, Electricity Demand
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS….…………………………………………….............3
LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………….4
1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………….…..….............5
2. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY SECTOR CONDITIONS IN
GHANA ………………………………………………………………………………7
2.1. Capacity Shortage: The Blight in Ghana’s Power Sector………………………...8
2.2. Mitigating Capacity Shortage …………………………………………………..10
3. DEPLOYING RENEWABLES: BEST STRATEGY FOR MITIGATING

3. 3
CAPACITY SHORTAGE? .....................................................................................11
3.1. A Critique of the Renewable Energy Act, 2011 (Act 837): Towards Energy
Autonomy? ……………………………………………………………………14
3.2. Potential Impact of Act 832 on Electricity Dynamics in Ghana ……………...17
4. TARGETING ENERGY SUFFICIENCY THROUGH RENEWABLES: THE
ISSUES.......................................................................................................................18
4.1. Targeting Energy Affordability Through Renewables: The
Issues..................................................................................................................21
4.2. West Africa Power Pool: Any Implications on Renewables?.............................22
4.3. The Way Forward .............…………………….………………………….........22
5. CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................................26
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………….........................28-34
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CEL Centric Energy Limited
EC Energy Commission
ECG Electricity Company of Ghana
FIT Feed-in-Tariffs
GAEC Ghana Atomic Energy Commission
GRIDCo Ghana Grid Company

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IEA International Energy Agency
IPPs Independent Power Producers
MRP Mines Reserve Plant
MoE Ministry of Energy
NED Northern Electricity Department
PURC Public Utilities Regulatory Commission
RE Renewable Energy
REPO Renewable Energy Purchase Obligations
SWERA Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment
TAPCO Takoradi Power Company
TICO Takoradi International Company
TT1PP Tema Thermal 1 Power Plant
TT1PP Tema Thermal 2 Power Plant
VRA Volta River Authority
WAPP West Africa Power Pool

5. 5
LIST OF FIGURES
Figures page
1. Structure of the Power Sector in Ghana ………………………………………………9
2. Procedures for Entry into the Electricity Market with Renewables …………………19
3. A typical 24-hour Demand Profile of Ghana as at January 2010 ……………………21
4. Evolution of Demand-Supply Gap in Ghana’s electricity sector ……………………21
5. Demand-Supply Dynamics of Ghana’s Electricity Sector from 2009 to
2018…………………………………………………………………………………..22
1. INTRODUCTION
Like other African countries south of the Sahara, Ghana has abundant conventional and
renewable energy (RE) resources1
that place her on a good footing to ensuring security of
electricity supply for her citizens and and to support industry. Yet, the past three decades have
witnessed erratic power outages 2
resulting from increasing demand on an overstretched
capacity3
and largely monopolised electricity regime, albeit with little injection of Independent
1
See generally, Government of Ghana/NDPC, Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework: Ghana
Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA) for 2010-2013, pp. 74-77,September 7, 2010, available at
http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/ghana/documents/eu_ghana/ghana_shared_growth_and_development_agenda_
en.pdf (Last visited: 27th
April 2012).
2
See generally Malgas I., and Eberhard A., Hybrid Power Markets in Africa: Generation Planning, Procurement
and Contracting Challenges, in Vol. 39 Issue 6, Energy Policy (2011); and Peer Learning Network/MIR, Power
Sector Reform and Regulation: Lessons From Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, Unedited
Draft Chapter 6 (2010) for authorised publication in 2012, available at http://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/files/Ghana.pdf
or http://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/s.asp?p=155 (Last visited: 17th
April 2012).
3
See Malgas I., and Eberhard A., Id., at 3192.

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Power Producers (IPPs)4
. Additionally, there has been intermittent supply crunch due to a
combination of thermal plant and drought failures5
which usually reduces the output of Ghana’s
hydro-dominated system (approximately 90% of net generation)6
. This has led some key
development partners7
and industry experts, players and concerned citizens8
to call on Ghana
to not only expand the country’s electricity grid through other viable options but also embrace
off-grid options such as green investment regimes within the framework of her international
obligations.
Energy access is a necessary condition for Africa to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals including poverty reduction (Brew-Hammond, 2010). According to Brew-Hammond
and Kemausuor (2009), the lack of electricity is a major cause of poverty that is crippling Sub-
Saharan Africa (SSA). The irony is that, Sub –Saharan Africa (SSA) countries including
Ghana have a lot of renewable energy potential which most is left unexploited. Unexplored
renewable energy resources, monopolised distribution regime, distorted tariff system, thermal
plants break down and intermittent rainfall pattern has led to one the worst power outages in
Ghana since independence.
As a medium to long term solution, the government in 2010, introduced a Bill on Renewable
Energy to parliament. One of the main goals of the Renewable Energy Law (Act, 832) is to
increase the share of modern forms of renewable energy to 10% in terms of power generation.
According to estimates by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, the government will need $1
billion in investments in renewable energy from 2012 to 2020 to achieve this target. Whilst this
is an important milestone to promote energy security and green energy consumption, we will
4
So far as I am aware, although Ghana’s electricity supply industry is unbundled and about half a dozen IPPs
have been in the system, Ghana currently has only three successful IPP experiences: the Takoradi II, and the
Sunon Asogli Power Plant and the Kpone IPP. See Eberhard A., and Gratwick K.N., When the power comes: An
analysis of IPPs in Africa, an MIR Publication, pp. 62-63, (2011), available at
http://gsblive.uct.ac.za/projects/drop/upload/IPPs%20in%20Africa.pdf (Last visited: 17th
April 2012). See also
Malgas I., Energy Stalemate: Independent Power Projects and Power Sector Reform in Ghana, MIR Working
Paper, p. 31 (2008), available at http://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/files/EnergyStalemate.pdf (Last visited: 17th
April
2012).
5
See Malgas I., Id., at pp.7-8.
6
See NationMaster.com, Energy in Ghana Statistics, available at http://www.nationmaster.com/country/gh-
ghana/ene-energy (Last visited: 21st
April 2011).
7
This effort is led by the German Development Bank (KfW), the world’s largest financier of renewable energy.
See Ministry of Energy, Ghana Advised to Add More Options to Electricity Grid, Official Website of Ghana’s
Ministry of Energy, available at http://www.energymin.gov.gh/ (Last visited: 17th
April 2012).
8
See for example, Nsakie-Kassim L.,, Ghana Needs Nuclear Now!, in Energy and Environmental Issues in Ghana,
available at http://energygh.blogspot.co.uk/ (Last visited: 15th
April 2012); and Term Paper Essay, Fuell Cell
Technology: The Way to Go for Ghana’s Energy Sufficiency, available at http://www.termpaperslab.com/essay-
on-fuel-cell-technology-way-go-ghana-s/16288.html (last visited: 15th
April 2012).

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need to look at previous attempts of promoting renewable energy and why they may not have
been successful.
In this paper, the various policy interventions in renewable energy production and consumption
over the past two decades is examined, an overview renewable energy production and
consumption of the same period is assessed, the renewable energy law of Ghana is looked at
and finally, recommendations are provided.
Government’s response, inter alia, was to introduce, in 2010, a Bill in Parliament which has
now been passed into law. In order to ensure, as stipulated in the Renewable Energy (RE) Act,
2011 (Act 832)9
, that the country derives not less than 10 per cent of its electricity generation
mix from modern RE sources (excluding large hydro and wood fuels) by 2020 10
, the
government rolled out an RE action plan in 2012 with intension to attract more than US$1
billion investment in power generation into the national electricity grid within eight years11
.
This paper analyses the extent to which Act 832 is relevant in complementing other power
sources to achieving energy security for Ghana. In doing this, we shall consider whether the
deployment of renewables will succeed in solving the twin problems of energy sufficiency and
affordability? If the answer turns out to be negative, of what relevance is Act 832 to Ghana in
its journey towards achieving energy security? Finally, what are the implications of the West
Africa Power pool on the success of Act 832? The paper is not intended to explore, except in
passing, the question of how Act 837 seeks to guarantee market share for renewables in Ghana’s
‘hybrid’12
power market. That is the subject for another paper. In the Sections following this
introduction, we argue that, in addition to developing an efficient RE regime, Ghana needs to
fully liberalise – if not privatise – the generation sector in the value chain as well as continue
major expansions in the combined cycle plant if it is to expand its electricity grid to achieve
9
Renewable Energy Act, 2011 (Act 832) (Date of Gazette Notification: 31st
December 2011).
10
See Ministry of Energy, Renewable Energy Policy Issues, Official Website of Ghana’s Ministry of Energy,
available at http://www.energymin.gov.gh/ (Last visited: 17th
April 2012).
11
See Ministry of Energy, Govt To Roll Out New Renewable Energy Plan, Official Website of Ghana’s Ministry
of Energy, available at http://www.energymin.gov.gh/index22.php?id=0244&pgtid=3&cntid=newinfo (Last
visited: 16th
April 2012). On-going programs have already yielded significant results. See Ministry of Energy,
Achievement – Renewable Energy, available at http://www.energymin.gov.gh/ (Last visited: 17th
April 2012).
12
Essentially, a ‘hybrid’ power system is one which is dominated by state owned entities but with some marginal
injection of IPPs. Ghana would seem to possess all the peculiarities of such a system. SeeMalgas I., and Eberhard
A., supra note 2 at 3191-3192 where they identified failure to procure and contract new power in time as a key
feature of hybrid markets. See also Peer Learning Network/MIR, supra note 2 at 129.

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energy sufficiency and thereby assure security of supply to meet her projected peak demand
levels of 2830MW and 3612MW by 2015 and 2020 respectively13
.
Section two presents an overview of the current state of the power industry in Ghana, discussion
in the process the problem of capacity shortage, its effects and mitigating factors. Section three
critiques the RE Act, extrapolating its potential effects on electricity dynamics in Ghana.
Section four discusses the relevance of the RE Act in guaranteeing sufficiency and affordability
of electricity supply in the foreseeable future. Section five draws useful conclusions.
2. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY SECTOR CONDITIONS IN GHANA
From the ‘Pre-Akosombo’14
years of isolated generation facilities with low rates of electricity
through the over-dependent ‘Hydro-Years’15
to present, electricity generation and distribution
in Ghana has witnessed a chequered history of reforms16
. During all these years, the generation
of electricity has basically been by the public sector, tracing back to the colonial era ‘when the
Gold Coast Railway Administration powered up its facilities at Sekondi’17
in 1914, albeit with
exclusive service only for the railway operations and its auxiliary units18
. Ghana’s first major
power station was commissioned in Tema with an initial capacity of about 2MW19
. When in
1966 the first phase of the Akosombo Dam project was commissioned, Ghana had only four
generators with a combined capacity of 588MW. Six years later in 1972, the addition of two
13
Bowen B.H., and Sparrow F.T., Ghana’s Electricity Long-term Capacity Expansion Plans and It’s Role in the
Proposed West Africa Power Pool, USAID Research Funded Project, Purdue University Power Pool Development
Group, West Lafayette (February 26 2001), available at
http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/library/organizations/ecowas/PPDG/Ghana.pdf (Last visited: 19th
April 2012).
As at end of 2013, however, Ghana load at peak (Maximum demand for Ghana (ECG + NEDCO + Direct
customers of VRA + Mines)) and System peak (Ghana load at peak + Valco load + Export load) stood at 1,791MW
and 1943MW up from the 2000 figures of 820MW and 1,161MW respectively. See Energy Commission of Ghana,
National Energy Statistics 2000 – 2013, Final Draft, April 2014, P.11. Available at:
http://www.energycom.gov.gh/files/ENERGY%20STATISTICS_2014_FINAL.pdf (Last visited: 27th
November
2014). This suggest that the projected demand figures may turn out to be overestimated.
14
The period between 1914 when the first electricity facility was powered in Ghana and 1966 when the Akosombo
Dam was built.
15
From 1966 to the mid-eighties when thermal plants were first introduced.
16
See generally Peer Learning Network/MIR, supra note 2.
17
Id., at 131.
18
See RCEER, Guide to Electric Power in Ghana, (1st
Edition) (ISSER, Univ. of Ghana-Legon, July 2005),
available at
http://www.beg.utexas.edu/energyecon/IDA/USAID/RC/Guide_to_Electric%20Power_in_Ghana.pdf (Last
visited: 18th
April 2012).
19
With an increase capacity of 35MW by 1964, this station is reportedly the largest diesel power station in Africa
at the time. See Id.

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generators increased total capacity to 912MW20
, creating a capacity excess regime21
. ‘Cheaper
and more reliable electricity supply’22
ensued and that marked the beginning of Ghana’s
retirement from the use of diesel plants23
.
Subsequent power sector reform resulted in a hybrid system24
. Currently, the country is facing
problems meeting its electricity needs25
. While the Volta River Authority (VRA)26
and Ghana
Grid Company (GRIDCo)27
are presently responsible for generating and transmitting electric
power, respectively, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Northern Electricity
Department (NED) are responsible for the distribution28
of electric power.
Figure 1. Structure of the Power Sector in Ghana29
2.1. Capacity Shortage: The Blight in Ghana’s Power Sector
Electricity is an important energy carrier which, like other energy carriers such as heat, faces
unprecedented uncertainty and price volatility due to change in supply and demand patterns30
.
This character of uncertainty can sometimes result in unfavourable market conditions that may
directly or indirectly lead to capacity shortage.
20
See Peer Learning Network/MIR, supra note 2 at 132.
21
See Id., where this capacity excess is reportedly because ‘the reservoir created by the Akosombo Dam was the
largest in the world by surface area’. In fact, the reservoir was later upgraded to 1020MW. See Malgas I., supra
note 4 at 8.
22
See Id.
23
See Id.
24
See Figure 1 for a graphic illustration of the power sector in Ghana.
25
One way of determining a capacity short regime is the occurrence of power blackouts. Currently Ghana is
witnessing massive blackouts and the entire country has been put on load shedding by the ECG.
26
Established under the Volta River Development Act, 1961 (Act 46).
27
Established in accordance with the Energy Commission Act, 1997 (Act 541) and the Volta River Development
(Amendment) Act, 2005 (Act 692). Act 692 within the framework of Ghana’s Power Sector Reforms.
28
ECG was incorporated in 1997 under the Companies Code, 1963 (Act …). It began as the Electricity Department
on 1st April 1947 and later became the Electricity Division in 1962. It was subsequently converted into the
Electricity Corporation of Ghana by NLC Decree 125 in 1967.Until July 1987, when the government created the
NED, the responsibility for distributing and supplying power in all parts of Ghana rested on ECG. As a subsidiary
of VRA, the NED was thus created to take over from ECG the responsibility for the running and development of
electric power systems in Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions, leaving the rest of the
country to the ECG. See ECG, Brief History of the Electricity Company of Ghana, available at
http://www.ecgonline.info/ecgweb/ (Last visited: 24th
April 2012).
29
See Peer Learning Network/MIR, supra note 2 at 130.
30
IEA, Renewable Energy Markets & Policies: Deploying Renewables, (Paris, France: International Energy
Agency, 2011) at p. 3.

10. 10
There is evidence31
aplenty that Ghana’s journey from capacity excess in the 70s to capacity
shortage in recent times is largely a function of overdependence on hydropower. This has been
the case even in the face of increasing demand for electricity. From the country’s first dose of
drought in the 1980s32
through the 1990s33
to the 2000s34
, series of severe droughts have
triggered a dawn of reality on the nation to look beyond hydro for answers. Thermal energy35
was the first to come to the rescue but even that did not solve Ghana’s capacity short challenge,
as government was often forced to procure emergency diesel generation elsewhere to meet
rising demands36
.
As a logical corollary to containing the problem of capacity shortage in the 1990s, government
power policy was refocused to attract Independent Power Producers (IPPs) into the system to
invest in new generators. Although Ghana’s first IPP, the Takoradi International Company
(TICO) in pursuance of a joint venture agreement entered into in 1999 between VRA and CMS
Energy of USA had in 2000 commissioned its plant to generate about 220MW expansion to
Takoradi, the power supply situation soon worsened by virtue of increasing demand resulting
from a robust economy in 2006/737
. As is rightly put, ‘Load shedding ensued and the need to
attract new investment in electricity generation made more evident’38
.
One of the most important benchmarks for measuring economic growth of a country is the
sufficiency of its electricity production 39
. As a country, now projected to surpass the
Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty by 201540
, Ghana must be seen doing the
right things to stabilise electricity supply. Yet, the pressure on the already overstretched
capacity short regime is even more evident in current and projected population figures41
. In the
31
See generally Peer Learning Network/MIR, supra note 2; Malgas I., and Eberhard A., supra note 2; and Malgas
I., supra note 4.
32
See Peer Learning Network/MIR, Id., at 132.
33
SeeMalgas I., supra note 4 at 8.
34
Id., at 9.
35
Id.
36
See Peer Learning Network/MIR, supra note 2 at 132.
37
Id., at 133.
38
Id.
39
See Green World Investor, Electric Generating Capacity by Country – World Electricity Production Growth
Driven by Emerging Markets, 29th
March 2011, available at
http://www.greenworldinvestor.com/2011/03/29/electric-generating-capacity-by-country-world-electricity-
production-growth-driven-by-emerging-markets/ (Last visited: 22nd
April 2012).
40
IDA, Ghana: Accelerating Growth to Halve Poverty, March 20 2007, available at
http://digitaljournal.com/article/144325 (Last visited: 26th
April 2012). AQ
41
The 2000 population census placed Ghana’s population at approximately 18.9 million. The 2010 Ghana
Statistical Survey Population and Housing Census pegs current population figures at 25 million, representing an

11. 11
last six months, for instance, blackouts or power outages occur by the clock. The situation is
even more exacerbated by the high spate of electricity theft42
by some citizens, which has the
potential of running down utility companies like the ECG and VRA. This weakens the
maintenance and sustainability strength of these companies, resulting ultimately in power
outages. With a current total installed capacity of approximately 2000MW, it is now clear that Ghana
needs substantial megawatts of extra generated electricity to meet its current demand-supply
gap of 153.1GWh43
.
3.0 Renewable Energy Policy Interventions in Ghana: Impacts and
Challenges
In 1998, import duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) on solar and wind systems and their
components were reduced. In 1999, the Renewable Energy Service Project (RESPRO), which
was a 3-year project which was funded by the United Nations Development Project (UNDP)
to create a non-profit trust to manage and extend solar to needy communities. RESPRO
designed, installed and provided instructions to users, and supervised the installations of 2,000
solar panels that were distributed to schools and households.
In 2006, the Strategic Natural Energy Policy increased the use of renewable energy to 10% in
the energy mix. It has been anticipated that the renewable technology would be increased by
30% in the rural areas in 2020.
Also in 2007, The Ghana Energy Development and Access Project (GEDAP) initiated some
sector institutional performance to improve electricity and increase the share of renewable in
electricity generation. The World Bank, Swiss Economic Compact and The African
Development Bank (AFDB) developed 7,500 photovoltaic (PV) systems to schools, hospitals
and offices. People at the receiving end of these systems were granted 50% of the appliance
purchase force and the remaining 50% were supported by APEX Bank and other Small
Medium and Enterprise (SME) related banks. The total duty inputs were exempted.
In 2010, the Ghana National Energy Policy came up with the renewable energy development
program where they advocated for the use of waste to produce energy and also have energy
increase in population of about 75% in 10 years. Projections are that Ghana’s population will hit 29 million by
2015 which is the target year for the Millennium Development Goals.
42
It has been reported that electricity theft costs utility companies in Ghana over a billion US dollars annually.
See Nunoo S., and Attachie J.C., A Methodology for the Design of an Electricity Theft Monitoring System, in Vol.
26 No. 2, p. 112, JATIT & LLS (2011).
43
Adom P.K., Modelling Aggregate Domestic Electricity Demand in Ghana: An Autoregressive Distributed Lag
Bounds Cointegration Approach, in Vol. 42, Energy Policy, pp. 530-537 at 531 (2012).

12. 12
been managed efficiently. In the same year 21 micro and medium hydrosites were identified
with capacities (4kw-325kw).
In 2013, Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) for the various renewable sources; solar, wind and mini-hydro
accounted for 40.2100Ghp/kwh, 32.1085Ghp/kwh and 26.5574Ghp/kwh respectively.
Finally under the net metering code, renewable energy generated and supplied by the facility
is credited to the customer .This is set of by electricity purchased from the distribution Utility
(ECG nad NEDco). A customer installs a renewable energy generation facility that generates
more than needed in a period and the meter runs in reverse to produce credit against electricity
consumed during that period .Only renewable energy generation to 200kw or above will benefit
from net metering support.
4.0 MITIGATING CAPACITY SHORTAGE
Among others, one way of mitigating capacity shortage is to build more plants to generate
excess capacity to meet growing demand. In developing countries like Ghana with inadequate
capital to do this, resort has always been to attract IPPs into the system through liberalisation44
and/or privatisation45
policies – the one does not necessarily imply the other – to generate the
needed extra capacity46
.
Although Ghana embraced the liberalisation trajectory in its electricity industry, it has only
done so partially since the market is still dominated by state owned entities across the value
chain with IPPs left at the margins of the industry47
. This has not helped the power crisis
situation in Ghana in any meaningful way as power outages continue to occur with debilitating
consequences for the Ghanaian economy. It has, for example been estimated – on World Bank
reported values – that power outages cost the Ghanaian economy more than $320million per
44
Depending on the policy direction of a particular jurisdiction, liberalisation is the introduction of competition
at the various levels of the value chain. See generally Dow S., Electricity Privatisation, Liberalisation and
Contracting, in Downstream Energy Law and Policy Primer, Chapter 5, available at
https://my.dundee.ac.uk/@@/ECF0F888603431950E5E9A572D62A00F/courses/1/CP51002_CAS_D65_20111
2/content/_2946104_1/Electricity%20chapter%20five.pdf (Last visited: 5th
May 2011).
45
See Id., where privatisation is defined as nothing more than the sale of electricity assets belonging to the State.
46
Id.
47
See Peer Learning Network/MIR, supra note 2 at 129.

13. 13
annum since 200848
. Happily, there are indications that private participation in the electricity
sector in Ghana will increase to 30% by 2015 and over 50% by 202049
. And although some50
have argued – amidst counter arguments – that liberalisation and privatisation policies rather
exacerbate power outages, it is this righter’s opinion that given the right market-driven
atmosphere, Ghana may soon escape from its present electricity supply crisis leading ultimately
to an improved economy if it adopted full liberalisation of the generation sector as well as
privatisation of the industry.
In addition to privatization and liberalization policies, a more current way of mitigating
capacity shortage, in recent times, has been to resort to large scale deployment of renewables51
– the primary focus of this paper.
Government is committed to provide readily available electricity to all in 2020. It is ready
promote the utilization of more efficient charcoal production and use technology through
research and fiscal incentives and regulations. About 36 licenses have been issued to generate
3905.31MW of power and out of these, 29 would be allotted to the solar photovoltaic to
generate 2,155MW. In addition to that, personal licenses have been issued for 1000MW of
wave energy, 68MW of biomass, 2554.31MW of waste to energy and 436MW for wind.
5.0. DEPLOYING RENEWABLES: BEST STRATEGY FOR MITIGATING
CAPACITY SHORTAGE IN GHANA?
48
Adom P.K., supra note 43 at 531.
49
See PSEC/GRIDCO, Ghana Wholesale Power Reliability Assessment 2010, Final Report March 2010, available
at http://www.gridcogh.com/site/downloads/27a623e256c7d94a7dce43d5ef82d3e3GridCoReportFinal.pdf (Last
visited: 21st
April 2012).
50
See for example Thomas, S and Hall, D., Blackouts: Do Liberalisation and Privatisation increase the Risk?,
in PSIRU Working Paper, University of Greenwich, London (2003), available athttp://userpage.fu-
berlin.de/ffu/veranstaltungen/salzburg2004/Thomas%20Blackouts.pdf (Last visited: 26th
April 2012). This
argument is seriously debatable. For more insight into this debate, See generally, Yu W., and Pollitt
M.G., Does Liberalisation Cause more Electricity Blackouts? Evidence from a Global Study of
Newspaper Reports, Cambridge Working Paper in Economics, Univ. of Cambridge Electricity Policy
Research Group, p. 2 (March 2009), available at
http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/dae/repec/cam/pdf/cwpe0911.pdf (last visited: 19th
April 2012).
51
See IEA, supra note 30 at 3.

14. 14
Although scholars52
agree that deploying RE for future sustenance of the energy industry is
generally desirable, there is at present limited use of modern new and RE technologies in Sub-
Saharan Africa53
, where Ghana is located.
Ghana started intimating the deployment of renewables in its power mix in 1997 – about a
decade and a half ago – when the Energy Commission Act54
gives priority to the funding of
renewables-based electricity generation investments especially for rural electrification
purposes55
. The Act provides, in relevant part, that monies of the [Energy] Fund shall, inter
alia, be applied for the ‘(b) promotion of projects for the development and utilisation of
renewable energy resources, including solar energy’56
.
Consequently, beginning 1999, the Energy Commission (EC) after prospecting generally for
wind energy in the country, including eleven coastal communities east and west of Accra found
the monthly average wind speed at 12 m to be 4.8–5.5 m/s57
. It has been argued58
that Ghana,
on the strength of these figures, ‘has an adequate wind resource for power generation, as
average wind speeds of greater than 4 m/s are generally considered to have generation
potential’59
. Consequently in August 2002, Ghana commenced the Solar and Wind Energy
Resource Assessment (SWERA) programme as part of a global project to supply high quality
renewable energy resource information60
. The primary focus of this programme which was to
conclude in 2005 is on the potential for large-scale grid connected wind turbines. After a careful
review of the Ghanaian experiment, it has now been forcefully argued that since wind energy
is attractive for its relatively low cost, high efficiency, and recent technological advancements,
Ghana stands to gain if it invested in wind energy because a 1 kW Future Energy wind turbine
52
See generally Id.; Alexander G., and Boyle G., Introducing Renewable Energy, in Renewable Energy: Power
for a Sustainable Future, ed. Godfrey Boyle (Oxford New York, USA: Oxford University Press Inc., 2004); and
Martinot E., et al., Renewable Energy Futures: Targets, Scenarios and Pathways, in Vol. 32, Annual Review of
Environment and Resources, pp.205-239 (2007).
53
Karekezi S., Disseminating Renewable Energy Technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa, in Vol. 19, Annu. Rev.
Energy Environ., 387-421 at 387 (1994).
54
Act 541, supra note 27.
55
See Module 8, Impact of Different Power Sector Reform Options on Renewables, Sustainable Energy Regulation
and Policymaking for Africa, available at http://africa-toolkit.reeep.org/modules/Module8.pdf (Last visited 17th
April 2012).
56
See Act 541,supra note 27, Section 42.
57
Park G.L, et al., Potential of Wind–powered Renewable Energy Membrane Systems for Ghana, in Vol. 248,
Issues 1-3, pp. 169-176 at 172 ELSEVIER (2009).
58
Id.
59
Id.
60
Energy Commission of Ghana, Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment, 2006, available at
http://new.energycom.gov.gh/downloads/Technical%20Reports/SWERA%20-%20National%20Report.pdf (Last
visited: 19th
April 2012).

15. 15
would give the best performance for the lowest cost61
at current wind speed in the country.
Although investing in wind energy is not likely to solve the electricity problems entirely, it is
this writer’s opinion that it would go a long way to mitigate power shortage differentials usually
occasioned by overdependence on hydro and thermal sources. For instance, wind energy has
become one of the key growth components in the economies of the top ten wind power
countries like the USA, Germany, China, Spain, India, Italy, France, the UK, Portugal and
Denmark62
. In Germany, for example, wind energy alone accounts for 7% of the country’s total
generated electricity63
. For a country that is often touted as the ‘gateway to Africa’, Ghana
could show leadership to the rest of Africa in this direction.
Between January 2009 and April 2010, it would seem that Ghana has made some progress in
its RE agenda that resulted in small scale pilot projects across the country. Among others,
government has commissioned solar systems in over 75 remote rural health facilities64
, as well
as embarked on training workshops for local communities on the health impact of wood fuel
smoke as a way of sensitising them towards embracing safer forms of renewables65
. Although
this is in line with the intended objective of Section 42 of Act 541, it is far below the desired
potential for large-scale grid connected solar panels with capacity to contribute towards
enhancing security of supply. Be that as it may, there is concrete evidence to suggest that
northern Ghana alone has sufficient solar potential to meet a significant percentage of Ghana’s
power needs66
.
By far the most important intervention by Ghana is the passage of a recent Act to govern the
development and deployment of renewables. With the coming into force of the RE Act67
,
Ghana has now put much premium on renewables than the mere guiding statement contained
in Act 541.
61
Park G.L., et al., supra note 57 at 169.
62
See James Tulloch, Top Ten Wind Power Countries: the Top Ten Countries that Use Wind Power According to
2009 Installed Capacity, in Allianz 2000-2012, available at http://knowledge.allianz.com/energy/?747/renewable-
energy-top-ten-countries-wind-power (Last visited: 22nd
April 2012).
63
Id.
64
See Ministry of Energy, supra note 11.
65
Id.
66
See Edjekumhene I., and Brew-Hammond A., Barriers to the Use of Renewable Energy Technologies for
Sustainable Development in Ghana, in Proceedings of the African High-Level Regional Meeting on Energy and
Sustainable Development held in Nairobi, pp. 81-90 at 83, Kenya, 10-13 January 2001, available at
http://uneprisoe.org/CSD9/AfricanMeetingCSD9.pdf=87 (Last visited: 14th
April 2012).
67
Act 832, supra note 9.

16. 16
Funded by a conglomerate of development partners, the Government of Ghana through the
Renewable Energy Directorate of the Ministry of Energy has been monitoring the
implementation of several renewable energy programmes and projects nationwide68
. In a
country where electricity theft is high and costly 69
and is sometimes linked to power
outages/blackouts due to capacity shortage, and where the West Africa Gas Pipeline seems
unreliable70
in its gas supply to Ghana for electricity purposes, it is my submission that the
injection of modern safer RE sources (other than hydro) into the power mix is a laudable – but
by no means sufficient – trajectory to achieving energy security71
.
In the context of security of supply concerns, it is imperative to consider how effectively
renewable projects can complement other power sector reform options in Ghana’s capacity
short but largely monopolised power market. This must begin from a critique of relevant
provisions of the new RE Act vis-à-vis the necessary requirements of successful renewable
markets.
6.0 A CRITIQUE OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY ACT, 2011 (ACT 832):
TOWARDS ENERGY SECURITY?
In 2009, South Africa introduced a Feed-in Tariff (FIT) which was designed to curb the
generation cost plus the tax real returns of (7% on equity indexed to inflation (NERSA,
2009).Allocations that were made for wind, solar and photovoltaic systems were15.6USc
26USc/kwh and 49USc/kwh respectively. However, the feed in tarrif has been changed. This
provides valuable lessons for Ghana.
One of the major instruments of the 10% target is the Feed-in Tariff (FIT). However, the
Energy Commission (2013), stipulates that there has not been any study on grid stability
68
See Ministry of Energy, Current Programs and Projects, Official Website of Ghana’s Ministry of Energy,
available at http://www.energymin.gov.gh/ (Last visited: 17th
April 2012).
69
See Nunoo S., and Attachie J.C., supra note 42, where the authors reported an over one billion estimated costs
of electricity theft to utility companies in Ghana.
70
See Government of Ghana, Ghana: Meeting Ghana’s Energy Needs – Current Status and Preparedness for the
Future – a Speech by Mr. Goosie Tanoh as Guest Speaker at the 3rd
Ghana Policy Fair Dialogue Series, Accra,
in AllAfrica, 18th
April 2012, available at http://allafrica.com/stories/201204191079.html (Last visited: 30th
April
2012).
71
After all, Ghana has for the past 54 years relied significantly on hydro and thermal sources for its energy needs.
Nor can it reasonably be expected that Ghana’s reliance on hydro-thermal sources will reduce drastically any time
soon.

17. 17
implications of intermittent solar power. This comes at a time when studies have shown that a
loss of 860MW for Akosombo led to a total collapse of the grid system.
Finally, the Energy Commission (EC) and Public Utility and Regulatory Commission (PURC)
are now developing Renewable Energy Purchase Obligators (REPO). Until this is done and
issued to the bulk distributors and customers, the issue of solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants
can never be suspended.
Any credible critique of Act 832 must start from identifying the necessary policy instruments
for assuring a successful regime of renewables. This is the case particularly in Ghana since the
Act is to be viewed against the background of helping bridge the wide electricity demand-
supply gap that now exists.
Against the backdrop of global difficulties in large-scale deployment of renewables, Karl
Mallon72
, after careful review of policy errors across the world has identified 10 key factors –
further categorised into ‘drivers’, ‘contexts’ and ‘society’ – which ought to be integrated in an
overarching policy framework for guaranteeing a successful development and deployment of
renewables to include: ‘…transparency, well-defined objectives, well-defined resources and
technologies, appropriately applied incentives, adequacy, stability, contextual frameworks,
energy market reform, land use planning reform, and equalising the community risk and cost-
benefit distribution’73
. Mallon argued that unless these factors are adequately integrated in the
system, a country – depending on its own national characteristics – is bound to fail in its
renewables regime. In a capacity short country like Ghana that is exploring options towards
mitigating its current power crisis, failure in its renewables regime is not an option. Be that as
it may, the thought-provoking question is: to what extent is Ghana’s new RE Act consistent
with these success factors?
If one takes a cursory glance at the content of Act 832, it is arguable that all the above factors
identified by Mallon have been catered for, even if not sufficiently. From the object of the Act
in Section 1 through appropriate tariff regimes in Sections 26-30, guaranteeing access to
transmission and distribution systems in Section 31, establishment of RE Fund in section 32 to
72
Mallon K., Ten Features of a Successful Renewable Market, in Renewable Energy Policy and Politics: A
Handbook for Decision-making, ed. Karl Mallon (London/Sterlin,VA, UK: Earthscan, 2006) at 35.
73
Id.

18. 18
consequential amendments in section 53, the Act is strikingly comprehensive. Consider the Act
in the context of Mallon’s ‘well-defined objectives’ and ‘transparency’ factors, for example:
 Well-Defined Objectives: The long title to Act 832 – virtually repeated in Section 1 –
sets out in broad terms its legislative object and purpose: the provision and utilization
of renewable energy sources for the generation of electricity in an efficient and
sustainable manner. The Act defines renewable energy to mean ‘energy obtained from
non-depleting sources including wind, solar, hydro…biomass, biofuels, geothermal
energy, and ocean energy’74
, inter alia. In order to ensure the diversification of
electricity supplies in ways that would improve access to electricity in particular and
safeguard energy security in general, the Act not only envisages a framework to support
the development and utilization of these renewable energy sources but also the creation
of an enabling environment to attract investment in those sources75
. Clearly, in line with
Mallon’s criteria, Act 832 has prioritized what it wants to achieve, how it wants to
achieve it, and why it wants to achieve it. Assessing the the adequacy or efficacy of
these objectives are a different debate for another paper.
 Transparency: the general tenor of Act 832 promises a well-integrated long-term
scheme that would guarantee project bankability for private investors in the deployment
of renewables. Although the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC)76
is
given the discretion to determine the duration of and/or modification of licenses77
, it is
likely that the PURC will consider cost implications of renewables vis-à-vis the rate of
recouping investments to prolong the life span of licences in order to attract
investments. Besides, the establishment of the RE Fund under Section 32 together with
the transparent accessibility regime the Act created, among other measures, is sufficient
support scheme for the promotion78
of renewables in the system. Additionally, under
Sections 9 to 25, the Act provides broad policy guidelines on the procedures for entering
the energy market with renewables79
. This meets Mallon’s transparency criterion, if
well enforced.
74
See Act 832, supra note 9, section 3.
75
Id., Section 2. See also Ministry of Energy, Memorandum attached to the Bill Pursuant to Which Act 832 Was
Passed, the Official Website of Ghana’s Ministry of Energy, available at http://www.energymin.gov.gh/ (Last
visited: 17th
April 2012).
76
Established under the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Act, 1997 (Act 538).
77
See Act 832, supra note 9, sections 15 and 16.
78
See Id., section 33.
79
See Figure 2 for a graphical picture of the procedures for entering the energy market with renewables in Ghana.

19. 19
Furthermore, the Act incorporates ‘market solutions’ such as Renewable Energy Purchase
Obligation (REPO) under section 27, which will have the likely effect of minimising the use
of taxpayers’ money.
However, it is equally arguable that since Ghana’s electricity industry is largely vertically
integrated and therefore less investor friendly, Act 832 may yet delay in achieving its intended
objectives if some radical complementary measures are not taken. And although Sections 26-
28 of the Act make provisions for a Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) regime that would guarantee a market
share for renewables, it seems less promising to me that intentional market distortions such as
subsidies and unintentional market distortions such as split incentives would work in favour of
renewables. This is especially the case when one considers the capital cost implications of
renewables compared to conventional energy and the need for a favourable rate of return for
the investor. This may prove to be a great obstacle to the development and deployment of
renewables in Ghana unless renewables are subsidised in much the same way as conventional
energy.
Finally, there is the greatest likelihood of a heavy bureaucracy in the Licensing and permit
provisions under the Act. From section 11 through to 25, the procedures involved in securing
a licence to operate in the renewables industry seem tasking indeed. It will for example take
the Energy Commission about 70 days to formally communicate to an applicant its decision80
.
In a capacity short country like Ghana, it is best if RE targets can be met with the minimum of
bureaucracy.
7.0 POTENTIAL IMPACT OF ACT 832 ON ELECTRICITY DYNAMICS IN GHANA
Notwithstanding the coming into force of Act 832, the provisions of any other Act, including
the EC Act, in relation to renewables are still applicable mutatis mutandis unless they are
inconsistent with this Act81
. What this means is that rural electrification82
as intimated under
Section 54 of Act 541 will still attract much attention. This, in addition to other Act 832 objects
such as building indigenous capacity in technology for RE sources and public education of RE
80
See Act 832, supra note 9, section 11(1)&(2). For a graphical illustration of the procedures adopted in
practice, see Figure 2.
81
See Act 832, supra note 9, section 49.
82
About 90% of rural communities still rely on wood fuels, which may have negative health implications for them.

20. 20
production and consumption,83
can have significant impact on achieving universal access to
electricity by 2020.
However, taking solar energy as illustration, Ghana is likely in the near future to require
photovoltaic systems at the kilowatt scale for connection to the national grid. Yet, such
technology only produces electricity during the day and their output will be higher in northern
Ghana with an average of about 32̊C than in southern Ghana which is relatively less sunny.
Consequently, although solar electricity is desirable in large scale, its likely deployment will
concentrate in the north. And given their relative exposure, photovoltaic systems are only likely
to make up a small proportion of any renewable electricity mix for Ghana in the foreseeable
future. A similar argument is true for wind energy which is likely going to be concentrated in
communities along the coastal belt. Given its variable nature, wind energy is also likely to
make up only a small proportion of any renewable mix for Ghana. Considered together with
their capital cost nature, renewables will make impact only in the medium-to-long-term in
Ghana. In the short term hydro-thermal sources, other than modern renewables, will dominate
the market.
Figure 2. Procedures for Entry into the Electricity Market with Renewables84
8.0. TARGETING ENERGY SUFFICIENCY THROUGH RENEWABLES: THE
ISSUES
Sufficiency and affordability in the electricity industry are determined by supply and demand
factors. Hydro power, which is Ghana’s main source of electricity, has overtime failed the
nation in meeting rising electricity demands. Although hydropower is often used elsewhere as
a solution to short term variations in demands, it is unreliable even in those jurisdictions due to
long term year-to-year variations in its potential dependence on rainfall85
. Ghana is not any
different.
83
See Act 832, supra note 9, Section 2.
84
See Ministry of Energy, supra note 75.
85
See Everett B., and Boyle G., Integration, in Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future,ed. Godfrey
Boyle (Oxford New York, USA: Oxford University Press Inc., 2004) at 401.

21. 21
An established industry fact is that electricity demand varies throughout the day (including
intra-day demand variations) and year depending on the consumption patterns of the different
customer mix and seasonal conditions of a given country. In Ghana, unlike in some western
countries, electricity demand is less dependent on seasonality but more on consumption patterns
of the existing customer mix86
. At present, the combined generation of the VRA’s controlled
hydropower (i.e., Akosombo, Kpong and now Bui) accounting for over 60% of the national
load with a total installed capacity of 1,580MW, and a mixture of generating plants, usually
thermal (i.e., TICO and TAPCO at Aboadzie, MRP, TT1PP and TT2PP at Tema, Takoradi T3,
CEL and Effasu Barge) but also embedded generation and VRA Solar accounting for the
remaining 30-40% of generation capacity with a total installed capacity of 1,501.5MW87
is
insufficient to meet total demand pattern if we take transmission and other losses into
consideration88
. There exist substantial data to suggest that the country has been experiencing a
negative net import of electricity since 200089
and this account partially for the current power
crisis. And there exist an insignificant reserve margin90
.
The reserve margin is just too low that a Ghanaian Energy Expert recently retorts:
‘…the estimated per capita electricity consumption in Zimbabwe is 206 watts… South
Africa records about 721 watts per capita…and the average person in Belgium enjoys
over 2,200 watts of electricity. Yet, according to pure empirical data, the average
Ghanaian…is entitled to 99.44 watts only! Just about the power of an old light bulb’91
.
Clearly, available electricity in Ghana is far inadequate to meet rising demands, making the
introduction of Act 832 even more relevant for its attendant prospects of attracting support from
the global ‘green community’ as well as more IPPs into generating additional capacity.
Although this may have capital cost implications on Ghana, the long-term benefits can be very
rewarding. In this regard, Act 832 is a good legislation. The needed funding should therefore
be sourced to develop and deploy modern renewables.
86
Adom P.K., supra note 43 at 531
87
See Energy Commission of Ghana, Supre note 13 at p.7. It should be noted however that while installed capacity
by name plate is pegged at 3,081MW, dependable capacity is at 2,631MW.
88
For instance, losses as a percentage of net generation has almost doubled from 2.8% in 2000 to 4.8 percent at
end of 2013. See Id., P.14.
89
See generally Adom P.K., supra note 43.
90
A meagre 10.1%. See Id.
91
See Government of Ghana, supra note 70.

22. 22
Figure 3. A typical 24-hour Demand Profile of Ghana as at January 201092
Figure 4. Evolution of Demand-Supply Gap in Ghana’s electricity sector93
Beyond 2008, the projected demand-supply gapwith full complementation of VALCO’s
operations is graphically illustrated below.
Figure 5. Demand-Supply Dynamics of Ghana’s electricity sector from 2009 to 201894
.
4.1. Targeting Energy Affordability Through Renewables: The Issues
Introducing renewables anywhere in the world may have cost implications for low income
earners. In the case of Ghana where the average Ghanaian lives by a purchasing power parity
of less than US$2 per day, the situation is even more worrying. In this light, and considering
the fact that Ghana hopes to achieve its renewables target largely through IPPs, there is the
greatest likelihood that even if renewables succeed in ensuring that ‘electricity works at the
flick of a switch, consumers and businesses may not be able to afford service at a rate viable
enough for profit-driven companies to recoup full costs’95
.
At any rate however, while deploying renewables can lead to significant price increases,
targeted policies can help protect low income households from being disadvantaged by any
such changes in price. Accordingly, there is an in-built tariff regime in Act 832 that would
cushion to some extent the final consumers from the high costs of renewables. Such policies
may however be unattractive to profit driven IPPs unless accompanied by a regime that would
guarantee a favourable market share for them. If IPPs feel less attracted to invest in the
generation of electricity in Ghana, this may have an overall negative effect on generation
92
See Adom P.K., supra note 43 at 531.
93
Id.
94
See Energy Commission of Ghana, 2010 Energy (Supply and Demand) Outlook for Ghana, p. 5, March 2010,
available at http://new.energycom.gov.gh/downloads/2010EnergyCommission.pdf (Last visited: 30th
April 2012).
95
See Government of Ghana, supra note 70.

23. 23
capacity needed to meet growing demands. It would seem, I think, that Act 832 has provided
a balanced regime intended to support both IPPs and consumers96
.
It is however arguable, that Act 832 is a peculiarly Ghanaian strategy of strengthening the VRA
since consumers will likely pay less if they bought power produced by VRA than by IPPs.
9.0 West Africa Power Pool (WAPP): Any Implications on Renewables?
Cursory reviews of relevant literature97
suggest that the WAPP has good prospects for Ghana.
Bowen and Sparrow98
have for example reported that Ghana stands to save 40% of its total
costs with a free trade scenario under the WAPP than without it. They argue that Ghana’s
construction of totally new hydropower and thermal sites is justifiable only in the light of free
trade under the WAPP. If the WAPP works, the implication would be to strengthen the VRA
and there will be no urgent need for deploying renewables. Although the WAPP has positive
prospects for Ghana, the arrangement would seem to have little prospects99
of working, making
the introduction of renewables to help make up for current and future demand-supply gap more
real and urgent.
4.3. The Way Forward
The overall RE policy objectives of Ghana as enshrined in Act 832 are sensible: an energy
sector that promotes economic competitiveness, social equity and environmental sustainability
in the electricity industry. Security of supply and improved sector governance are seen as
important elements in achieving these goals. There is also a demand side emphasis,
refreshingly.
Introducing and getting Act 832 passed is sufficient evidence that Ghana’s energy Ministry is
providing leadership on key issues. But more needs to be done if the Act is to contribute
meaningfully to achieving Ghana’s dream of energy security. Measures should include:
 First, while Act 832 provides for feed-in tariffs that could support private investment
in renewable energy, investment progress will be stifled unless the feed-in-tariffs are
periodically reviewed in light of heavy subsidies granted VRA to guarantee private
96
See Act 832, supra note 9 sections 26 to 33.
97
See generally Bowen B.H., and Sparrow F.T., supra note 13.
98
Id.
99
See Government of Ghana, supra note 70.

24. 24
investors of early returns in their investments as well as assure them of a market share
in the distribution network.
 Second, some100
have argued, upon a critical review of demand and supply factors,
that in the presence of positive income, output and demographic effects, what is
urgently needed in Ghana is the implementation of appropriate electricity efficiency
standards. And as Goosie Tanoh aptly summarizes: ‘…If energy use grows too fast,
renewable energy development will chase a receding target’101
. Ghana must therefore
intensify its on-going energy efficiency measures102
.
 Third, current improvement in access rate to electricity of 18%103
in the last two years
should be sustained or improved over the next two. Current statistics show that more
than a third of Ghanaians have access to the grid 104
. Thus the electrification
programme has accelerated, indicating a clear chance that Ghana’s goal of universal
access to electricity by 2020 is achievable even by 2015 if Ghana sustains the 18%
access rate in the next 2 years.
 Fourth, an important priority area of energy policy is nuclear energy. There is at
present little evidence that the country is providing leadership in this regard. If
properly developed and deployed for the intended purpose, nuclear energy could help
Ghana achieve a self-sufficient electricity supply status. The Ghana Atomic Energy
Commission (GAEC) is better positioned to ensure this if tasked. Accordingly, Ghana
needs a national debate on the future development and use of nuclear energy for
electricity generation purposes, including its potential costs, safety, and environmental
benefits.
 Security of electricity supply is an important global energy concern. If Ghana is to
avoid costly blackouts in future, then appropriate institutional capacity must be
developed to ensure that new power is procured in time and at the least cost. This will
involve, to a very large extent, the development and deployment of modern
100
See Adom P.K., et al., supra note 43 at 530.
101
See Government of Ghana, supra note 70.
102
In a case study of Ghana in 2009, the country is reported to have replaced six million incandescent lamps with
the same number of CFLs free of Charge. The study indicated that by doing this Ghana saved some 1,200Mwh
hours every day, amounting to 480 Gwh per year. Again, peak electricity demand was reduced by 200MW, thus
stabilising the electricity grid leading to the reduction in use of diesel and thermal generators. See Rohde Anja,
Policies to Change the World: Energy Sufficiency – Eight Policies Towards the Sustainable Use of Energy,
Hamburg Germany, UNT DigitalLibrary 2009, available at
http://digital.library.unt.edu/search/?q=%22Ghana%22&t=dc_coverage (Last visited: 23rd
April 2012).
103
See Government of Ghana, supra note 70.
104
About 72% of Ghanaians now have access. See Id.

25. 25
renewables such as solar and wind energy. This calls for a consistent and stable
policy. Studies have, for example, shown that while the wind energy market in the
USA has been erratic due to a ‘roller-coaster ride’ kind of a policy, that in European
countries such as Denmark, Germany and Spain has been booming cost-
competitively105
for reasons of stable policies. This means that it is not sufficient for
successive Ghanaian governments to recognize the power crisis as a national concern;
they must ensure policy stability in the development and deployment of renewables if
the 10% target by 2020 is to work. At the same time, responsibility must be allocated.
 Government should encourage and support research and development (R&D) for
alternative power sources in higher institutions. There is for example an ongoing
renewables project in Valley View University106
which needs replication and support
in public universities like the University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University
of Science and Technology, among others. This will go a long way to improve local
technology for developing and deploying renewables while engendering the
renewables culture in the next generation of Ghanaian leaders.
 It is an established industry fact that while a reliable electricity supply depends on
having sufficient, operating, power stations, it also requires reliable grid networks to
transport the electricity to users. Ghana currently relies on GRIDCo to transmit
electricity to Bulk Purchase Users like the mining companies and some universities,
as well as the ECG and NED for onward distribution to consumers. The nature of
distribution by ECG, in particular, proves to be inefficient as unreliable distribution
assumes notoriety across the country. In some jurisdictions, power distribution is
decentralized to promote efficiency. As recent as 2009 in South Africa, for example,
Municipalities distribute about half of the country’s electricity107
, and even though
South Africans are not entirely satisfied with this arrangement and are indeed calling
105
Swisher R., and Porter K., Renewable Policy Lessons From the US: The Need for Consistent and Stable Policies,
in Renewable Energy Policy and Politics: A Handbook for Decision-making, ed. Karl Mallon (London/Sterlin,VA,
UK: Earthscan, 2006) at 197.
106
This University generates electricity from rooftop solar panels and kitchen waste that is converted to energy at
the on-campus biogas plant in order to ensure sustainable on-campus flow of electricity. See Valley View
University an Eco university in Ghana, available at
HTTP://WWW.GO100PERCENT.ORG/CMS/INDEX.PHP?ID=21&ID=80&TX_TTNEWS%5BTT_NEWS%5
D=60&TX_LOCATOR_PI1%5BSTARTLAT%5D=-
1.9311165&TX_LOCATOR_PI1%5BSTARTLON%5D=15.0573835&CHASH=C00C58168B2391AE5480B3
802B4F07D3(14TH
APRIL 2012).
107
See Eberhard A., Energy policy: Ten Ways to Provide SA with More and Cleaner Power, Published in Business
Day South Africa, News Worth Knowing, 21st
May 2009, available at
http://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/files/BDarticle21May2010_17_8_2010_13205.pdf (Last visited: 17th
April 2012).

26. 26
for reforms that would enable the transfer of these networks to regional electricity
distributors, some have argued that ‘a more pragmatic solution would be to invest in
human and physical capital in the 12 largest distributors, which account for 80% of
the electricity distributed by local government’108
. It is submitted that if Ghana
restructured the distribution sector by adopting the South African model and if
adequate investments are injected into training the needed human and physical capital
at the Municipal and District levels for electricity distribution purposes, Ghana will
emerge one of the best in Africa in terms of satisfactory distribution of power, in the
long term. In the short term, the ECG and NED will need to be given the needed boost
in human and infrastructure development in order to perform creditably.
 Finally, reasonable electricity price increases are necessary to finance investment in
new capacity. In a country where illegal connections/electricity theft is high, failure
to raise electricity prices to levels that reflect costs will result in ECG making losses,
maintenance and investment being delayed, and power going out frequently.
Consequently, while devising special tariffs for low-income families is desirable, it
seems to me less desirable in light of the current wide demand-supply gap. This
recommendation will need a bold government with a passionate political will to
implement, devoid of likely political backlash. It is a bitter pill that must be swallowed.
Only when these factors are considered seriously will Ghana escape the current energy
stalemate. Absent these, even if Act 832 achieves its intended goals, such achievement will be
too infinitesimal to make up for supply deficits in the country. And ultimately, Ghana’s dream
of extending power supply to other West African countries – other than Togo and Benin with
which such ties have already been experimented – by 2015 will be short-circuited.
10.0 CONCLUSIONS
Ghanaians are hoping against the odds that the country’s electricity sector shall be better
managed in the next fifty-seven years than it was in the past fifty-seven since independence.
The electricity sector certainly could be improved and there is no doubt Ghana could have done
108
Id.

27. 27
better. The country experienced avoidable 109
blackouts in recent times, which curtailed
economic growth and caused widespread inconvenience110
. Even the distribution of petrol,
diesel and gas has not been as reliable as it should have been. Clearly, energy delivery in Ghana
is evidently poor. Far too many Ghanaians continue to suffer inadequate, unsafe or
unaffordable energy services, particularly electricity. And environmental impacts remain a
headache.
In the specific context of the electricity industry, Ghana’s continued over-dependence on
hydro-thermal – which requires more fuel and gas to turn the turbines – can have future carbon
emissions implication against the backdrop of its international obligations. In its current status
as an oil producing country, and considering on-going grid expansion projects in the hydro and
thermal categories, it is likely that future post-Kyoto negotiations will inevitably envisage the
inclusion of Ghana, among a host of other developing but more advanced countries like China
and India in new commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This would seem much
more likely in the particular context of Ghana’s readiness to turn its Jubilee Field gas risk into
a power risk111
as one of the options to achieving energy security, whilst preventing gas flaring.
In these circumstances, whilst Ghana needs to develop a more consistent and integrated climate
change policy, the RE Act would seem to be sufficient evidence that Ghana is on the right
trajectory to an environmental friendly and sustainable energy regime.
Although ‘the IEA envisages renewables still playing only a minor role in the energy system of
2020112
,there is now increased confidence in RE technologies globally due to rapid successful
deployments over the last eight years113
, demonstrating that this group of low-carbon energy
technologies can deliver the intended policy benefits of improved energy security114
.
109
See Kwame Osei, The Electricity Power Outages Uncovered – Don’t Blame the ECG, Modern Ghana Feature
Article, 12th
April 2012, available at http://www.modernghana.com/news/388698//the-electricity-power-outages-
uncovered-dont-blame.html (Last visited: 19th
April 2012).
110
The inconvenience has been so intensive that some citizens are threatening to demonstrate with some
threatening to commence a court action against the ECG for poor services. However, upon a careful consideration
of the matter, it seems to me that a potential court action against ECG other than the VRA or GRIDCO is unlikely
to succeed.
111
Ghana’s Vice-president recently signed for the release from Chinese authorities of $1 billion out of the $3
billion master credit facility agreement approved by Parliament, which according to credible government sources
is for the development of the Jubilee associated-gas infrastructure project. See Emmanuel Akli,$1bn Chinese loan
ready … Negotiations for remaining $2bn underway, the Chronicle of Thursday April 26, 2012. Available at
http://ghanaian-chronicle.com/1bn-chinese-loan-ready-negotiations-for-remaining-2bn-underway/ (Last visited:
25th
April 2012).
112
See Everett B., and Boyle G., supra note 85 at 422.
113
IEA, supra note 30 at 3.
114
Id., at 15.

28. 28
Clearly, Ghana is blessed! Blessed because at a time when the need for energy security is ever
so real, favourable renewable resources abound for immediate development and subsequent
deployment towards achieving that goal. Besides, the country has the benefit of hindsight in
the experiences of other countries in order to avoid possible pitfalls and establish appropriate
portfolios of renewable technologies geared towards achieving energy security. The political
will has always been lacking115
. In the presence of Act 832 and other policy pronouncements
on renewables, however, industry players appear to be embracing renewables in Ghana.
Given that Ghana aims to achieve 10% of renewables in its energy mix by 2010; could the
current policy focus on renewables be Ghana’s answer to its current capacity shortage in the
electricity industry? We have demonstrated in this paper that whilst the current capacity
shortage represents additional incentive for Ghana to invest in safer and cleaner renewables
such as solar and wind, that alone is not sufficient to place Ghana in the category of energy
sufficient countries. To achieve energy security, Ghana will need to assume an overarching
approach that will integrate all available and potential cost-effective energy sources in its
electricity mix. An energy sector that will guarantee sufficiency and affordability of electricity
supply in the foreseeable future is what the people of Ghana need. That is what they deserve!
On this, successive Ghanaian governments from now on can have no compromise if they are to
avoid any political backlash.
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115
As early as 2001, for instance, some scholars intimated that the first wind park in Sub-Saharan Africa could be
built in Ghana. See Edjekumhene I., and Brew-Hammond A., supra note 66. Thirteen years from then, there is
little evidence of progress in that direction.

29. 29
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Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Act, 1997 (ACT 538), (Published in official
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Volta River Development Act, 1961 (Act 46) (Assented to on 26th
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