Abstract:
A reliable supply of electricity is fundamental to a well-function economy.
However, the increasing national demand for every energy in Ghana is far more
than the supply resulting in load shedding of power. There are issues with
underpricing, subsidizing, overstaffing, and inadequate maintenance of
equipment especially with the distribution function by Electricity Company of
Ghana (ECG). These problems are attributed to the natural monopoly of the
company, hence, the call by the Ghanaian public and stakeholders for
government to privatize ECG and solve the crisis “dumsor”. In principle the
study examined the current electricity policies and also the needs to be
addressed or modernize these policies in order to help accelerate economic
growth if there is a need for private ownership, A random sampling method was
used to gathering primary data, by administering semi –structured
questionnaires to 440 voluntary participants. The key findings was analyzed
using 5 point Likert scale model with a bench (BM) of 3.5. The result was used
to either accept or reject a test hypothesis for the research questions. The test
concluded that, majority of Ghanaians strongly agreed to the privatization of
ECG to help improve service delivery, accessibility, pricing subsidies, and high
network losses, new technologies and solution which will ensure effective
maintenance of their network infrastructural development and service delivery.
However, the research recommended that Government must be decisive
whether to go for full privatization or Private participation when planning to
privatize the electricity sector. ECG privatization requires holistically analysis
with stakeholders” Involvement and define whether partial of full privatization
is the best appropriate option.
