Aware of the crucial role electrification plays in sustaining economic growth and accelerating social development, Ghana was one of the first nations in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to implement, back in 1989, a national plan to universalize electricity access. This vision has led the country to hold one of the highest electrification rates in the region today, with 84% of the population connected to the grid. In addition, the country was able to attract independent power producers (IPPs) to meet

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... s growing demand and now has an impressive generation park with more than 5,000 MW installed capacity. However, the sector still faces many challenges. The power supply has been unreliable due to shortages of natural gas supply, and the thermal power plants had to turn to expensive liquid fuels. There is an excess of thermal installed capacity, which increased the capacity charges. The grid suffers from high commercial and technical losses. All these factors contribute to increasing the power system costs, which combined with a high incidence of unpaid electricity bills created a chronic financial deficit. The potential of renewable energies (other than hydro) remains locked, and almost 4.5 million people, living mostly in Ghana's rural areas, still lack access to electricity. This report provides an overview of the power sector in Ghana, focusing on understanding the underlying reasons for the current challenges throughout the value chain and the direction in which the sector is moving to resolve them, and finally exploring potential solutions to some of the issues identified.