A European technology company has held formal discussions with the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) about deploying advanced metering infrastructure across the utility’s network, as Ghana’s northern power distributor grapples with electricity losses that independent data show have been worsening for years.
The NITES Group, a Serbia-based information technology and utilities solutions firm, visited NEDCo’s offices in Tamale last week to explore a partnership aimed at reducing both technical and commercial losses across the distribution network. The delegation was led by Dr. Dmitar Cickovic and included Vladimir Petrovic, with the engagement facilitated locally by Gilbert Yelewere Meznar and Sofwan Alhassan, Chief Executive Officer of AL-Sofwan Company Limited.
The scale of the problem that any such technology would need to address is significant. According to data from the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) Electricity Monitor, NEDCo’s distribution losses stood at 31.3 percent in 2024, up from 31.0 percent in 2023, and the trend has worsened steadily since 2010. NEDCo management and industry stakeholders have placed the figure higher, with officials disclosing losses exceeding 40 percent when illegal connections and billing irregularities are included. The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) mandates that distribution losses must not exceed 21 percent.
The geographic concentration of the problem makes it especially acute. Energy Minister John Jinapor disclosed during a working visit to the region last year that 50 percent of NEDCo’s total power losses originate from the northern sector, with 70 percent of that figure concentrated in Tamale alone, driven largely by widespread illegal connections that overload transformers and cause frequent power failures.
The human cost extends far beyond revenue. In 2024, NEDCo’s rural customers experienced an average of 132 power outages, while metro area customers endured an average interruption duration of 70 hours, all figures well beyond the PURC’s regulatory benchmarks.
During the Tamale meeting, NITES Group presented its Automated Meter Management (AMM) solution, which it says has been deployed across several million metering points in European markets where it achieved measurable reductions in technical and commercial losses. The system collects, stores, processes, and controls data from smart meters, enabling real-time visibility of energy flows, detection of meter tampering, and remote disconnection and reconnection without the need for field staff.
NEDCo Acting Managing Director John Okine Yamoah welcomed the engagement and acknowledged that the level of losses was undermining the company’s ability to invest in infrastructure, maintain equipment, and deliver reliable service. Both sides described the talks as productive and expressed interest in building a formal partnership, though no agreement has yet been signed and no deployment timeline has been announced.
The discussions come as the Mahama administration has signalled urgency around fixing the financial sustainability of Ghana’s power distribution sector, with NEDCo’s losses representing one of the most entrenched structural drains on the country’s broader energy economy.
