64 bulk supply points operated by GRIDCo across Ghana . The NIT also comprised 123 transformers with an overall transformer capacity of 4,598.86 MVA . 18 By the close of 2020 , the transmission network had grown up to 7,200.5 circuit kilometres and its overall total transformer capacity had more than doubled , standing at 8,901.8 MVA with 65 bulk supply points across the nation . 19 Nevertheless , this expansion has been insufficient in catering to the state ’ s growing power demands and diversification of energy sources . Nationwide access to electricity as at 2020 was at 83 %, with 91 % of residents in urban areas having access to electricity while the same was true for only 50 % of residents in rural parts of the country . 20
At present , several whole communities in rural remote areas do not have access to power and this is primarily due to a lack of infrastructure to transmit electricity from the power generating plants to these inland locations , particularly in the mid-portion and northern parts of the country . 21 Attempts to improve power transmission to rural areas have been embarked on over the years , key among them being the Self-Help Electrification Program , an initiative introduced by the National Electrification Scheme whereby rural communities complement the efforts of the government with regards to provision of basic transmission facilities to secure their accelerated connection to the national grid . However , the data suggest that much more work needs to be done and barring significant infrastructural investments , the strain created by nationwide growth in electricity demand would adversely affect the limited progress that has been made in rural electrification .
In addition , a considerable number of the transmission facilities on ground are notoriously outdated ; a problem that has resulted in transmission bottlenecks , overloaded transformer sub-stations and high system losses . 22 Between 2006 and 2016 , transmission and distribution losses made up as much as 20.1 % of the total electricity supplied and although distribution losses have proved more significant with 16.2 % of losses stemming from distribution and commercial losses by the ECG and NEDCo , as opposed to 3.9 % losses reported in the transmission sub-sector 23 , recent trends have shown an increase in transmission losses , which moved from 3.8 % in 2017 to 4.5 % in 2020 representing 888GWh of losses in that year alone . Needless to say , the 4.5 % losses recorded fall below the benchmark set by the PURC , and the Energy Commission has reported that investment in new transmission lines and the upgrade of existing outmoded lines is paramount to averting the rising trend in transmission losses . 24
The lack of adequate infrastructure has been especially felt in recent times with a series of power outages around the country between January and April 2021 attributed to system challenges on the NITS spurring an investigation by the PURC into the causes of the erratic power supply . 25 The ensuing report cited faults in transmission lines and line insulators , compressor failures , emergency upgrades and modification works , construction of new infrastructure on the NITS , scheduled maintenance and delayed investments , and completion of projects as some of the causes of the power outage over the observed time period . 26 Briefs released by the Ministry of Energy likewise attributed the power outages to maintenance work and improvements being carried out on outdated systems in the NITS , indicating that the discomfort experienced in the short-term was inevitable in the quest to secure long-term improvements in the system . 27
• Financial hurdles – These issues are only compounded by the financial difficulties facing the companies operating in the transmission and distribution sub-sectors . In 2018 , despite attaining a 16.67 % increase in power transmitted , GRIDCo recorded a net loss of C114.3m . This was in part due to a significant loss in transmission revenue from C715.2m in 2017 to C490.2m in 2018 , caused by the 50 % decrease in the Transmission Service Charge set by the PURC . [ 28 ] The events of the year only draw attention to a wider issue within the industry that speaks to a lack of financial sustainability / commercial viability . The prices in the sector are not regulated by the traditional market forces of demand and supply due to state intervention and this has led to the transmission and distribution entities running at a deficit for a number of years .
As of 2017 , the total debt owed to GRIDCo by the ECG and the Volta Aluminium Company ( VALCO ) stood at C862m . 29 The dire financial situation of the sub-sector has severely hampered planned infrastructural investment and left a widening infrastructural gap as demand continues to increase around Ghana . The Preliminary Investigative Report on Erratic Power Supply conducted by the PURC in April 2021 , noted that several key projects provided for in the 2020 Electricity Supply Plan that were scheduled to have been completed were stalled due to delays in investment .
GRIDCo is purely a state-owned entity and there has been little or no private investment in the company or its projects . As a result , a significant portion of the infrastructural development that has taken place over the years has been financed by multinational agencies and financial institutions . In 2017 , GRIDCo completed one infrastructural development project , commenced another and reported eight more ongoing projects .
These included the 330kV Prestea-Kumasi Power Enhancement Project at a cost of US $ 58,150,352 financed by the Export-Import Bank of Korea ; the Project for Reinforcement of Power Supply to Accra Central at a cost of US $ 58,000,000 , jointly financed by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency and GRIDCo ; and the Substation Reliability Enhancement Project ( SREP ) at a cost of € 31,762,217 and C10,218,312 , also jointly
66 Project Finance International October 20 2021