By Philip Antoh
The two largest labor unions in Ghana’s power sector are making a simple, data-driven argument to halt a planned privatization: the state-owned electricity company is already fixing itself.
Citing internal financial data, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Public Utility Workers’ Union (PUWU) revealed that a six-month, worker-driven recovery program at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) nearly doubled its monthly revenue, from about GH¢900 million to roughly GH¢1.7 billion between July and December 2025.
The 90% surge, they say, proves that deep-seated inefficiencies and massive revenue losses long used to justify bringing in private operators can be solved from within.
“Why is the state willing to offer guarantees, incentives, and regulatory support to private concessionaires, yet seems hesitant to extend the same assistance to ECG, a publicly owned company?” TUC General Secretary Joshua Ansah asked at a joint press conference last week.
The unions’ campaign presents a direct challenge to the government’s long-stated position that private capital and management are essential to rescuing the beleaguered power distributor, which serves southern Ghana.
Their evidence suggests that with clear targets, managerial accountability, and worker buy-in, the much-maligned state utility can achieve rapid turnaround.
The revenue increase, the unions argue, has had immediate ripple effects. They claim it has enabled more timely payments to the independent power producers (IPPs) that generate Ghana’s electricity, reducing the constant threat of generation shutdowns due to unpaid arrears that have triggered blackouts in the past.
The improvement was the result of a coordinated push involving frontline workers, ECG management, and the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, with a singular focus on improving revenue collection from customers.
The unions assert that the skills and commitment of existing staff were the “crucial” drivers of the progress.
“These successes can be sustained and expanded if the government reinforces institutional support and ensures strict accountability for management,” a union statement read.
The case of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), also slated for privatization, bolsters their argument. The unions reported that NEDCo reduced its system losses a key measure of inefficiency and theft by about eight percentage points in the past year through similar internal reforms.
Despite these claimed gains, the government’s push for private sector involvement continues, a move the unions label as a disregard for recent success that “could jeopardize a system that is starting to show positive results.”
The unions are demanding an immediate suspension of all privatization processes. Instead, they are calling for the government to extend and strengthen the current internal turnaround program, establishing clearer performance targets for management and enhancing regulatory oversight.
The standoff highlights a fundamental policy crossroads: whether to treat a state-owned enterprise as a failing asset to be sold or as a capable entity that can be reformed with the right mix of pressure, support, and accountability. For now, the unions have laid down their evidence a graph showing a revenue line shooting upward and are asking the government why that isn’t enough.