Ghana Launches Public Registry of Power Contracts to Boost Competition and Reduce Risks

Bottom Line Impact

The Hub inspired and helped shape Ghana’s first-of-its-kind public register of power purchase agreements. This moves the country toward a more transparent, disciplined electricity market capable of powering economic and industrial goals, attracting higher quality investment, lowering prices, and deploying more clean energy. Ghana now serves as a model for other countries to follow.

Why It Matters

Over decades, secret electricity contracts in Ghana have raised electricity prices, slowed deployment, and added to the country’s debt. From 2018 to 2019, Ghana spent nearly $1 billion on power it didn’t use. The public PPA register, launched by the national utility regulator, shares information on all 14 of the country’s active electricity contracts. This is a huge first step toward a more transparent market that can build the energy system Ghana needs to meet its economic and industrial goals.

What We Did

Found and cultivated the right person. In 2019, we co-hosted a policy roundtable with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Ghana, where we met economist Ishmael Ackah from Ghana’s Energy Commission and eventually recruited him as a joint fellow at the Hub and IEA.
Produced a data-rich Ghana case study. Ackah developed a case study of Ghana’s power contracts with Katie Auth and Todd Moss, showing how non-disclosure was draining public funds, increasing debt, and failing to deliver promised electricity. The case study proposed publishing contracts or, in the interim, using a sample terms sheet disclosing basic information.
Crafted timely, politically relevant analysis and recommendations. Led by Rushaiya Ibrahim-Tanko and Mohamed Rali Badissy, the Hub team produced a steady drumbeat of analysis on Ghana’s power sector, including leading energy priorities and top supply challenges. Rushiaya and Todd also linked ongoing debt restructuring negotiations to opaque power contracting in The Other Hidden Debt: How Power Contract Transparency Can Prevent Future Debt Risk, published on the International Monetary Fund’s Public Financial Management site.
Built PPA Watch, scoring countries on power contract transparency. PPA Watch is a public platform using a simple 10-point rubric to score a sample of countries on the transparency of contracts between power producers and utilities with any public sector guarantee.

Benefited from a lucky break. In 2022, Ackah was named executive secretary of Ghana’s Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, where he could lead reforms. In 2025, he was appointed as a technical advisor at the Ministry of Energy and continued pushing for increased contract transparency.

Big Win: Ghana Launches Public Register of PPAs (and the details look a lot like what we proposed).

Soon after Ackah took over leadership of Ghana’s Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, they launched a public PPA register to share information on Ghana’s active electricity contracts. The registry’s details closely align with those proposed in our case study and on PPA Watch. These steps should help Ghana’s power market function more efficiently, reduce debt risk, and enable the country to build the power system it needs for a growing economy.

Key Partners

Ishmael Ackah, former Fellow at the Energy for Growth Hub and IEA Ghana, who became head of the utility regulator and is currently an Advisor at Ghana’s Ministry of Energy.
Charles Mensa and John Kwakye, Chairman of IEA Ghana and Hub Advisor, and IEA Director of Research.
Charles Kenny, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development and Hub Advisor, who co-authored the PPA white paper with Hub staff.

Learn more about our PPA transparency work.