FACTSHEET: As “Dumsor” kicks in, how does Ghana compare to other countries in terms of access to electricity?

Some Ghanaians in parts of the national capital will have to endure power interruptions for eight days following the release of a load-shedding schedule by the state power distributor, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

The power interruptions will start from today, Monday, May 10, and end on Monday, May 17, 2021.

According to the ECG, this has become imperative “to enable the tie-in of the newly constructed Pokuase Bulk Supply Point (BRP) to GRIDCO’s 330kV transmission line” and help improve power supply reliability and system voltages.

But how does Ghana compare to other countries in terms of the percentage of the population with access to electricity?

Access to electricity- West Africa

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Out of 141 economies captured in the Global Competitiveness Report (2019), Ghana ranked 106^th in terms of the percentage of the population with access to electricity.

However, in comparison to 10 other West African countries mentioned in the report, Ghana ranks 2^nd with 84.3% of its population having access to electricity, while Cape Verde tops the list with 96.1%.

The Global Competitiveness Report is an annual assessment of the economic performance of 141 selected economies around the world by the World Economic Forum using the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) as the yardstick to measure the productivity of these countries.

Global Competitiveness Index-Electricity Access

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Access to electricity- Sub Saharan Africa

Ghana ranked 6^th out of 48 sub-Saharan African countries in terms of the percentage of its population with access to electricity, data from the World Bank(2018) has showed.

Access to Electricity: Top 7 sub–Saharan African countries

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Ghana’s power generation mix

Ghana’s power supply sources are hydroelectricity, thermal fueled by crude oil, natural gas and diesel, solar, and also imports from La Cote D’Ivoire. Ghana also exports power to Togo, Benin, and Burkina Faso.

The total installed capacity for existing plants in Ghana is 4,132MW consisting of Hydro 38%, Thermal 61%, and Solar less than 1%.

Researched by Gifty Tracy Aminu