The commissioning of an electricity plant in Tema will curb high import bills, Minister for Energy and Green Transition Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor has indicated.
He said producing meters locally will help keep more value within the economy while strengthening the electricity supply chain’s foundations. This initiative is expected to create skilled and semi-skilled jobs, support technology transfer and build technical capacity in the energy sector.
Reliable metering sits at the heart of electricity business and therefore the initiative can be viewed as a positive development in the energy sector. Without meters, utilities struggle to account for power supplied, losses go untracked and billing disputes multiply, the minister added.
For years, Ghana has relied heavily on imported meters to meet demand. While imports helped expand access, they also drained foreign exchange and limited local participation in a critical segment of the power value chain.
Local meter production aligns with ongoing sector reforms aimed at reducing technical and commercial losses, improving revenue mobilisation and speeding up large-scale meter deployment.
Meanwhile, an emergency meeting was held on Wednesday, February 26 when the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) summoned the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) over reports of prepaid units depleting at break-neck speed.
The PURC has “taken note of widespread media reports and public complaints alleging rapid depletion of prepaid electricity units” following the January tariff adjustment.
The energy minister has consequently directed ECG to investigate and submit a comprehensive report within seven days. ECG, on the other hand, says the company only applies tariffs approved by PURC and has not gone beyond the sanctioned rates.
They attribute increased electricity usage to hot weather and the proliferation of electrical appliances as the main contributors. On January 1, 2026, PURC implemented a 9.86% electricity tariff hike under the 2026–2030 MYTO framework.
While PURC occasionally conducts random checks on meters to verify billing accuracy, the practice is not routine. However, PURC currently has no formal index to track the rapid depletion of prepaid units – making on-site inspections critical for gathering data.
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