Ghana’s power sector is entering a “higher-risk zone” as surging electricity demand continues to outpace critical investments in transmission infrastructure, according to the Institute for Energy Security (IES).
In its latest analysis, the think tank noted that while increasing peak demand reflects growing economic activity and higher consumption by households and industry, the transmission network has not kept pace with this expansion—creating structural weaknesses within the system.
The IES warned that the grid is becoming increasingly burdened by congested transmission corridors, rising technical losses, over-loaded systems, and ageing equipment. These challenges, it said, pose a direct threat to grid stability, reliability, and efficient power delivery.
With electricity demand now exceeding 4,280 megawatts, the report cautioned that Ghana faces a heightened risk of supply shortfalls, particularly during peak periods, if urgent investments in capacity expansion and grid modernisation are not undertaken.
Economic implications
The institute stressed that persistent inefficiencies in the power sector could drive up operational costs for businesses, weaken industrial productivity, and ultimately slow economic growth.
It therefore called for coordinated investment strategies and regulatory reforms to strengthen the resilience of Ghana’s energy infrastructure.
Urgent call for action
IES is urging government, regulators, and development partners to prioritise transmission network upgrades as a national strategic imperative, warning that decisions taken now will shape the sector’s reliability and competitiveness for decades.
Key recommendations
To mitigate the risks, the institute proposed a series of measures, including upgrading existing transmission lines with higher-capacity conductors to reduce overloading and technical losses, and constructing new high-voltage lines to improve bulk power transfer and system flexibility.
It also called for reinforcement of critical transmission corridors to provide alternative power flow paths and reduce vulnerability to single-point failures, alongside investments in voltage control systems to enhance stability and support renewable energy integration.
Additionally, the report highlighted the need to replace ageing transformers and substation equipment, expand transformation capacity at key nodes, and optimise the network to minimise both technical and commercial losses.
Strengthening cross-border interconnections, the IES added, would further boost electricity trade within the region and enhance Ghana’s competitiveness in the West African power market.
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