Turning demand into stability: How the 24-Hour economy can strengthen the power sector

By Rudolph Aboagye Okai

One of the most common criticisms of Ghana’s proposed 24-hour economy is that the country’s power sector is not robust enough to support round-the-clock economic activity. The argument is familiar: if Ghana struggles to provide reliable electricity today, how can it sustain factories, businesses and services operating throughout the night?

Yet this criticism may be missing the deeper reality by looking at the issue only from the surface.

Rather than being a liability for the energy sector, the 24-hour economy could become the single most important catalyst for addressing many of the structural challenges that have plagued Ghana’s power industry for years. If implemented strategically, it offers an opportunity to improve asset utilisation, attract private investment, diversify energy sources and create a more financially sustainable electricity market.

The key lies in understanding a simple reality: Ghana already has significant power generation capacity that remains underutilised during large portions of the day.

Turning idle capacity into economic value

One of the enduring challenges in Ghana’s electricity sector is the mismatch between installed generation capacity and actual demand. During off-peak hours, particularly between late evening and early morning, electricity consumption falls significantly. However, the State continues to pay substantial capacity charges to independent power producers to ensure that generation plants remain available when needed.

In effect, Ghana pays for power infrastructure even when much of it is sitting idle. A well-designed 24-hour economy can help solve this problem. By encouraging industrial production, logistics operations and commercial activity during nighttime hours, electricity demand becomes more evenly distributed throughout the day. Instead of sharp peaks and troughs, the demand curve begins to flatten.

This matters because a flatter demand profile improves the economics of power generation. Power producers can generate more electricity from existing assets, increase plant utilisation rates and earn revenue from actual electricity sales rather than relying heavily on capacity payments. Over time, this could reduce the financial burden on the State while improving the sustainability of the entire power value chain.

In other words, the 24-hour economy transforms idle nighttime capacity from a cost centre into a productive national asset.

Building a more resilient energy system

However, increased demand alone is not enough. A 24-hour economy also requires a more resilient and diversified energy ecosystem.

Ghana’s electricity distribution system remains heavily dependent on a single major distributor. Any operational or financial challenges within that system can create risks for businesses that require uninterrupted power.

The future therefore lies in diversification and decentralisation. The integration of solar generation, nuclear energy, battery energy storage systems, biomass projects and embedded generation solutions can create a more balanced and resilient energy mix. Decentralised generation reduces transmission losses which currently hovers around 20 percent, improves system efficiency and provides additional reliability for industrial clusters and commercial zones.

Battery storage, in particular, can play a critical role by bridging short-term interruptions and ensuring continuity for manufacturing operations where even brief power fluctuations can lead to significant production losses.

Achieving this transformation will require substantial capital investment. The government alone cannot provide the resources needed. Public-private partnerships, bankable power purchase agreements and credible demand projections will be essential to attract long-term investors into Ghana’s energy market.

The 24-hour economy can provide exactly the kind of predictable demand profile that investors seek.

Using tariffs to change behaviour

Perhaps the most powerful policy tool available is the introduction of a comprehensive time-of-use tariff system.

Under Ghana’s traditional tariff structure, electricity prices remain largely constant regardless of when power is consumed. Yet the cost of supplying electricity varies significantly depending on demand levels throughout the day.

Time-of-use tariffs align pricing with system realities. Electricity becomes more expensive during peak demand periods and cheaper during off-peak periods.

This creates a powerful incentive for businesses to shift energy-intensive activities to lower-cost hours. Manufacturers can schedule production runs at night, cold storage facilities can optimise operations, and service providers can expand working hours to take advantage of reduced electricity costs.

The result is a more balanced demand profile that reduces pressure on the grid and minimises the need for expensive peaking power plants that operate only during periods of exceptionally high demand.

At the same time, time-of-use pricing strengthens the investment case for renewable energy. Solar developers, for example, benefit from greater certainty that daytime electricity generation will find a ready market. Increased demand predictability improves project bankability and can help unlock financing for renewable energy investments that have struggled to reach commercial viability.

A rare opportunity for reform

The debate over Ghana’s 24-hour economy should not focus solely on whether the power sector can support the policy. The more important question is whether the policy can help fix the power sector itself.

For decades, Ghana has grappled with underutilized generation assets, costly capacity payments, financial stress within the electricity value chain and inadequate investment in modern infrastructure. The 24-hour economy presents a rare opportunity to address these challenges simultaneously.

If policymakers successfully combine increased nighttime economic activity with diversified generation, decentralised energy systems and intelligent tariff structures, Ghana can create a virtuous cycle in which economic growth strengthens the power sector and a stronger power sector, in turn, supports economic growth.

The real opportunity is not merely to keep the lights on for longer hours. It is to transform unused electricity capacity into productive economic activity, reduce inefficiencies in the energy market and position Ghana as one of the most competitive destinations for industrial investment in West Africa.

The 24-hour economy, if properly executed, may prove to be not just an economic policy, but an energy sector reform strategy in disguise.

About the writer

Rudolph is an energy investment and infrastructure development professional. Currently a lead in Business Development and Portfolio Management within the sector, he holds an MBA from the University of Oxford. The views expressed in this article are his own. He can be reached via [email protected].

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