Energy and Green Transition Minister John Abdulai Jinapor has told Parliament that Ghana’s persistent electricity meter shortage stems from a serious mismatch between approved funding and the value of contracts awarded during the previous administration, with commitments exceeding approved limits by more than three times.
Addressing Parliament on Monday, March 16, Jinapor said that when the Mahama government took office, it found that although the board of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) had approved approximately GH¢3 billion for contracts in 2024, more than GH¢9 billion worth of contracts had already been signed and awarded, including those covering meter supply.
“When we assumed office for 2024, even though the ECG board approved about three billion cedis for contracts, more than nine billion cedis had already been awarded, including for meter supply,” he said. “It means that the revenue ECG was receiving as a portion of its cash waterfall allocation was not enough. So some of these meter manufacturing companies, who had been given huge contracts, could not meet that demand.”
The disclosure adds a new layer to the government’s previously stated account of ECG’s financial difficulties. Earlier this year, Jinapor revealed that ECG had committed to procuring materials and products worth GH¢13 billion under repayment plans extending over 25 years, with some of the items already expired, prompting the inauguration of a seven-member committee to investigate the company’s procurement processes.
The minister said the government has responded to the meter funding bottleneck by raising ECG’s monthly cash waterfall allocation from GH¢300 million to GH¢360 million and introducing a performance incentive structure. “If ECG wants to collect more than GH¢360 million, they have to work harder, because the more they collect, the more they get,” he said.
The meter shortage has been a source of growing public frustration, with consumers across Accra and other urban centres unable to obtain meters and forced into informal arrangements or continued reliance on estimated billing. The government commissioned Ghana’s first domestic meter manufacturing facility, operated by MBH Power Limited, on February 25, with Jinapor describing the plant as a strategic move to reduce reliance on imported meters and retain economic value locally.
Jinapor assured Parliament that the situation is now improving. “We are on course, and the meters will be made available,” he said.
