Electricity sector should be deregulated

to promote efficiency.

A Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, Dr. Robert Osei is backing calls for the deregulation of the electricity sector in order to improve efficiency in power production.

Dr. Osei told the dailyEXPRESS soon after the launch of the 2006 State of the Economy report and mid-year 2007 review that consumers continue to suffer from poor service delivery from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) because of the monopoly it enjoys.

The monopoly, he noted, will only be broken and the ECG forced to be responsible to consumers and clients if the sector is deregulated. He further argued that there can be no better time than now for the deregulation because the performance of the ECG must be enhanced and made more efficient.

“It is feasible and it will happen and needs to happen and something needs to be done, because when you create a monopoly you create inefficiency,” he emphasized.

Consumers have continuously complained about the poor services provided by the ECG and other utility companies like the Ghana Water Company (GWCL). For many consumers, the services provided are not commensurate with the high tariffs charged by the ECG and GWCL.

From intermittent power cuts, over billing and incessant low voltage are among the complaints of consumers against the ECG. It also continues to receive critical comments from consumers for passing on its inefficiency to them with the Public Utility Regulatory Commission doing little to protect consumers.

Making an analogy between the current power crisis and the purchase of generators by companies and individuals, Dr Osei said many more were forced to buy generators at an expensive cost just because of the inefficiency created in the system. According to him, that situation could have been avoided if the current monopoly had been broken.

Touching on the mid-year 2007 review, the ISSER Research Fellow said the country’s economy continues to show a lot of promise although a lot more effort need to be put in to ensure that Ghanaians on the streets feel the economic improvements in their pockets.