The Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor, has reiterated the government’s stance against selling the power distribution company, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Instead, he says Cabinet has opted for a concession model, where private sector participation will be brought on board to introduce efficiency without relinquishing state ownership.
The Minister, speaking on Accra-based JoyNews on Thursday, April 30, 2025, reemphasised the decision taken by Cabinet and urged the public to disregard information suggesting that ECG is up for sale.
“We are not selling ECG, and let me put this on record. So that decision has now been made. We are not selling ECG, far from that. So ignore the misinformation,” he stated.
He pointed out that although private sector participation will be introduced into the company, the state will still have a stake in it.
“Cabinet has taken a definitive position that will require some level of private sector participation, but not to sell the company outright,” he stressed.
He stated that the ECG, under the new structure, will act as a holding company and be divided into geographical locations to operate.
“ECG will divide its operational areas into four, maybe three,” the Minister said. “Roland company, for instance, will take one; yours is to manage that sector or that geographical area.
“At the end of the month, we check how much power came to you, just hypothetically, maybe 20 megawatts.
“We check the gigawatt hours that you consumed, and we say that this is the price—pay ECG. How you collect the money is your cup of tea,” explained Dr. Jinapor.
On whether these companies will be required to pay the ECG upfront before being given the opportunity, the Energy Minister said “No, you put a deposit or a guarantee. Before you can qualify, we’re gonna have what you call RFQ—request for qualification—so that we sieve off some companies and have top-notch companies through a competitive process.”
Explaining further the processes involved, he added companies which have undergone RFQ will “then go to what we call an RFP—request for proposal. Based on those proposals and based on the criteria, we eventually select the concessionaires.”
The processes involved, according to Dr. Jinapor, would be transparent and competitive.
“That company must have capacity, which includes financial capacity, technical capacity, and all the issues we are talking about,” he said.
“It’s not like go and get some friends to come and take a contract. We’re taking a transaction advisor, competitive bidding, competitive process, so they will get a very good company.”
He said the new model protects ECG’s interests while pushing private players to be more efficient.
“Simply put, what you are going to do is to buy bulk power from ECG and sell,” Jinapor said.
“So, ECG is guaranteed their money. It is the private player’s job to go and sell what you pick. ECG needn’t bother about how you collect the money.”
According to the Minister, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) will still regulate prices.
“PURC’s is that this is the price we’ve guaranteed for you. You can’t charge above that,” he said.
“Your duty is to sell that power, collect the money and put it in a dedicated account. ECG takes its share, and whatever is left is yours. If you can’t do that, then don’t apply.”
John Jinapor said the government is focused on efficiency, not privatisation.
“ECG will remain the holding company,” he repeated. “We’re not selling it. We’re making it better.”
