Public Utilities Workers Union opposes private sector participation in ECG, NEDCo operations

The Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) has criticised the government’s move to introduce private sector participation in the operations of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), arguing that ongoing reforms are already improving the performance of the two state-owned power distributors.

The Union believes the planned involvement of private investors is unnecessary and could undermine the stability of the companies.

PUWU General Secretary Timothy Nyame urged government to reconsider the move, insisting that recent measures implemented by the Ministry of Energy have produced significant improvements in the power sector.

His comments follow the Finance Minister’s announcement during the Mid-Year Budget Review that a transaction advisor had been engaged to facilitate the private sector participation process for ECG and NEDCo.

Mr. Nyame questioned the rationale behind the move, citing improvements in power supply, revenue mobilisation and system losses.

“The power situation has stabilised, revenue generation has gone to a record high and system losses have been reduced. What do you want again?” he asked.

He argued that Ghana’s current approach to managing the electricity distribution companies was yielding results and questioned why government was seeking external involvement.

“Other countries are adopting our mode of operations, so why does the government still insist on bringing a financial advisor to privatise ECG and NEDCo?” he said.

PUWU maintains that strengthening existing structures within the state-owned companies would be a better approach than introducing private sector participation into their operations.