John Jinapor
The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Hon. John Abdulai Jinapor, has announced that all government agencies will soon be placed on prepaid electricity meters.
This policy, the Minister explained, forms part of broader measures to reduce both technical and commercial losses across the country’s power distribution network.
Hon. Jinapor made the disclosure in Parliament while responding to a question filed by the Member of Parliament for Effutu, Hon. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, regarding efforts by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to address losses in the system.
He said the transition to prepaid metering is in line with ECG’s Loss Reduction Programme (LRP), which includes a series of interventions to combat illegal connections, metering deficiencies, and poor energy auditing.
Among the major initiatives outlined by the Minister is Boundary Metering—a project to install MMS-compliant meters at all ECG regional and district boundary points. This, he said, will facilitate detailed upstream and downstream energy audits, helping ECG to pinpoint areas with high losses.
“So far, boundary meters have been installed in five of the ten ECG operational regions: Western, Central, Eastern, Volta, and Tema,” he disclosed, adding that installation in the remaining regions is ongoing.
Another important project under the LRP is Distribution Transformer (DT) Metering. According to the Minister, this involves installing meters on all distribution transformers across ECG’s service areas to enable precise audits and enhance load management.
“Out of a total of 30,000 DT meters required, 3,349 have already been installed,” Hon. Jinapor stated. He added that the Ministry is fast-tracking the release of additional meters held up at the ports to allow the contractor to speed up installation.
Hon. Jinapor also mentioned the adoption of Flat Rate Billing for customers without meters—either due to delays after payment or because of faulty meters awaiting replacement.
He emphasized that while this is a temporary measure, it is critical in preventing illegal connections and unaccounted electricity sales. “This interim solution helps minimize commercial losses and discourages customers from resorting to unlawful connections,” he added.
The planned migration of government agencies to prepaid meters, he noted, would enhance transparency, promote energy conservation, and help ECG recover revenue that is often lost due to unpaid bills or unmetered consumption.
As Ghana grapples with energy sector challenges, the Ministry says it remains committed to reforming power management and ensuring the sustainability of ECG’s operations.