Claim: ECG‘s records 23% in transmission and commercial losses
Source: Inusah Fuseini (former Tamale Central MP)
Verdict: Understated
Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, speaking on Channel One TV’s Big Issue, on May 17, 2024, claimed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) recorded about 23% in transmission and commercial losses.
Explaining Ghana’s power sector debt, he said: “What is actually killing government is the transmission and commercial losses. Today, as we speak, transmission and commercial losses hover around 23%, far above industry standards. So it means that any power that is supplied to the ECG, they don’t even break, they lose 23%. So they are going to be in perpetual debt,” he said.
This fact-check report will verify the claim about the commercial and transmission losses.
What are Transmission and commercial losses?
According to a recent paper on electricity distribution losses that was published by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), transmission and commercial losses refer to the quantity of power not accounted for or paid for by customers, even though power has been pushed through distribution networks.
“The difference between energy input (purchases) and energy collected (sales) is thus considered a loss. These system losses are classified as technical and non-technical (commercial),” the paper said.
The losses are either caused by power dissipation in transmission and distribution lines, transformers, or external causes such as power theft.
“Overall, these factors have resulted in increased systemic losses in the country’s electricity sector, which has contributed significantly to the sector’s growing cashflow and reliability concerns,” the PURC noted.
Fact-Check
To verify the claim, GhanaFact relied on PURC data and the 2025 National Energy Statistical Bulletin released by the Energy Commission in April.
In 2022, the PURC adopted regulatory benchmarks for the two power distributors (the ECG and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company, NEDCo), as a measure to manage these losses with a benchmark of 21.4%.
“Prior to September 2022, the benchmark for ECG’s and NEDCo’s losses was set at 22.6%. However, the Commission in its 2022-2025 major tariff review reduced the benchmark from 22.6% to 21.4%. This regulated benchmark of 21.4% was used to account for the cost of power losses in the distribution network,” see page 4 of the PURC analysis.
Despite the adoption of this yearly loss reduction target, ECG’s recent transmission and commercial losses stand at 32%. This is indicated in the Energy Commission’s report released in April 2025.
The above data shows that the former MP has understated the percentage of the transmission and commercial losses, which is 32%, not 23%, as said.
Verdict
Therefore, the claim is rated understated.
NOTE: GhanaFact has tried contacting the former MP with our findings. His views will be incorporated when we get a response.
