About the Ministry
Sector Overview
A snapshot of Ghana’s power and petroleum sectors — the institutions, capacity, reforms, and outlook that shape the nation’s energy future.
Power Sector
Generation, Grid & Access
Power Generation
Ghana’s power supply sources are hydroelectricity, thermal fueled by crude oil, natural gas and diesel, solar, and imports from La Côte d’Ivoire. Ghana also exports power to Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso, with ongoing grid expansions enabling further exports across the sub-region.
The sector has a vibrant generation landscape with both public and private participants. Reforms in the 1980s gradually removed barriers and created a level playing field for independent power producers.
Total installed capacity is approximately 4,132 MW — Hydro 38%, Thermal 61%, and Solar under 1%.
Transmission
Transmission is the responsibility of the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), established in 2006 under the Energy Commission Act, 1997 (Act 541) and the Volta River Development (Amendment) Act, 2005 (Act 692).
Government, through the Ministry of Energy, is implementing major projects to address transmission challenges — replacing over-aged equipment, constructing 161kV and 330kV transmission lines, building and expanding substations, and installing capacitor banks.
Distribution
Electricity distribution is carried out by three main utilities — two state-owned and one private.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) supplies power across six southern regions: Ashanti, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Volta, and Western.
The Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), a subsidiary of VRA since 2012, serves Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Northern, Savannah, North East, Upper East, and Upper West regions.
Enclave Power Company Ltd (EPC) is the privately-owned distributor operating in the Tema Free Zones Enclave.
Access to Electricity
The National Electrification Scheme (NES) was instituted in 1989 with the policy objective of universal access. From about 20% accessibility in 1990, Ghana has achieved one of the highest electricity access rates in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The national average access rate has continued to climb steadily as the country pursues universal access.
Renewable Energy
Ghana is endowed with renewable resources — biomass, hydropower, coastal wind, and high solar irradiation. The Renewable Energy Act (Act 832), passed in 2011, creates the enabling environment for private investment.
Strategies include competitive procurement of utility-scale renewables, mainstreaming mini-grids into the NES for island and lakeside communities, updating small-hydro data, and productive uses of energy in agriculture and food processing.
A National Roadmap to integrate nuclear power into Ghana’s energy mix has been developed and accepted by the IAEA.
Brief History
Policy, oversight, and coordination of Ghana’s energy sector.
The Ministry of Energy is the Government of Ghana Ministry responsible for energy policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation as well as supervision and coordination of activities of Energy Sector Agencies.
The Ministry has undergone restructuring and name changes over the years. The Ministry’s name was changed from Ministry of Energy to Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in 2012; split into Ministries of Petroleum and Power in November 2014; and on 27 February 2017, by Executive Instrument (E.I. 28), the Ministries of Petroleum and Power were merged to create the current Ministry of Energy.