Ghana’s two principal energy regulators are working to ensure that the country’s electric vehicle (EV) transition does not catch the market off guard, with the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Energy Commission actively building a coordinated framework to govern how charging infrastructure rolls out across the country.
The NPA’s Director of Business Development, Godwin Yaw Konu, disclosed the collaboration on the sidelines of the Africa Extractives Media Fellowship (AEMF) Training Programme, making clear that the regulator no longer views EV adoption as a future consideration but as a present reality requiring structured policy action. “EV is here to stay,” he stated, underscoring the urgency behind the inter-agency effort.
At the centre of the regulators’ strategy is the conversion of Ghana’s existing retail fuel station network into multi-energy hubs capable of serving both conventional petroleum vehicles and electric cars simultaneously. Rather than constructing entirely new charging infrastructure from the ground up, the NPA and Energy Commission are exploring how filling stations, already embedded in communities and familiar to motorists, can be retrofitted to accommodate EV charging points. “We are working with the Energy Commission and using the retail outlet as charging points,” Konu confirmed.
The approach carries clear practical advantages. It dramatically reduces the capital cost of building a nationwide charging network and allows filling station operators to adapt incrementally rather than face a disruptive overhaul. It also preserves continuity in petroleum supply during the transition period, ensuring that neither category of motorist is left underserved as the vehicle mix on Ghana’s roads evolves.
The second pillar of the collaboration focuses on standardisation, which both regulators view as essential to preventing a fragmented and potentially unsafe rollout. Without agreed technical specifications governing charging equipment, tariff structures, safety requirements, and operational guidelines, the market risks developing in ways that are inconsistent, difficult to regulate, and ultimately costly for consumers to navigate. “We are in talks with the Energy Commission to ensure that there is standardisation, there is cooperation between them and us as to how it should be deployed,” Konu stated.
The regulatory groundwork being laid by the NPA and Energy Commission fits into a broader national framework that is already further advanced than many Ghanaians may realise. Energy and Green Transition Minister John Abdulai Jinapor has confirmed that Ghana now leads Africa in EV numbers and that some local EV owners are saving as much as 70 percent of their monthly fuel expenditure, making electric mobility an increasingly attractive option for households and businesses.
The Energy Commission commissioned Ghana’s first solar-powered direct current fast EV charging station at its Accra headquarters in June 2025, featuring 105 solar panels generating 61.43 kilowatts peak, supported by a 60-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, providing a fully off-grid charging solution. That installation, developed in partnership with GIZ, set a precedent for the kind of solar-backed charging model the government now wants to replicate at fuel stations nationwide.
Ghana also secured approximately US$1 billion in medium-term financing through 2030 to accelerate its energy transition projects, including funding earmarked specifically for EV charging infrastructure. Ghana’s National EV Policy, launched by the previous administration, targets an EV penetration rate of around 35 percent by 2035 through a phased approach, with the current 2024 to 2026 window designated as the preparatory phase for addressing infrastructure and market barriers.
For Ghana’s filling station operators, the coming transition represents both challenge and commercial opportunity. Stations that move early to integrate charging infrastructure position themselves to serve a growing segment of the motoring public, diversify revenue away from petroleum margins alone, and secure long-term commercial relevance in a mobility landscape that is unquestionably shifting.
