Power for sale: Inside the ECG’s shadow economy

By Bright T. Terkpernor

For nearly four years, a family in Somanya, in the Yilo Krobo Municipality, consumed electricity without paying a single cedi. Their meter, discreetly installed through a backdoor arrangement, never appeared in the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) billing system.

When officials finally disconnected them, the family braced for darkness. But within days, power was mysteriously restored – not through official channels, but after a quiet cash payment to a commercial officer. No receipt. No record.

“This payment was supposed to enter ECG’s accounts as an estimated consumption bill,” said one resident. “Instead, it went straight into a staff member’s pocket.”

This family’s experience is far from unique. Across Ghana, consumers navigating the electricity system say they are routinely exploited by insiders – ECG staff who demand cash for reconnections and inspectors from the Energy Commission who inflate mandatory wiring inspection fees.

These practices reveal how insiders are siphoning money out of official systems and into private pockets, deepening ECG’s financial woes and eroding public trust.

In Yilo Krobo, Manya Krobo, and parts of Asuogyaman, ECG has long struggled with illegal connections. In 2017, soldiers were even deployed to install prepaid meters. Yet years later, the system still bleeds revenue.

“Whose fault?” residents ask.

On paper, the legal process is clear. Customers wire their homes, Energy Commission inspectors certify the work at approved fees, and ECG installs meters, billing officially through cashless systems. In practice, the process has become fertile ground for extortions.

“Pay or sit in darkness”

One resident of Somanya recalled her ordeal after ECG field staff cut her power.

“They came to disconnect my power, so I decided to go to the office to know why, because the one who fixed my meter told me it’s an ECG meter. At the office, I was told my meter was not in the system.,” the consumer told The Fourth Estate.

“For me to be reconnected, Mr. Narh asked me to pay GHC 800 estimated consumption fee. I pleaded and negotiated to GHC 150. He took my phone, sent the money himself, and when I got home, my lights were on.”

Another resident described how her meter was suddenly declared “illegal”.

“I was in the room with my child watching television when our lights suddenly went off. Three ECG field operatives were outside. One identified himself as Wonder. They said my meter was not in their system. They asked me to pay GHC 500. After negotiation, I gave them GHC 200. They reconnected my power,” the consumer who pleaded anonymity told The Fourth Estate.

Both payments bypassed ECG’s accounts entirely.

The men behind the deals

Investigations across three catchment areas – Yilo Krobo, Manya Krobo, and parts of Asuogyaman – point to a network of insiders.

Residents repeatedly named commercial officer, Maxwell Narh. Others identified were Crystal Godknows Adzagba, Wonder, and Julius Dautey. They refused to speak to The Fourth Estate about the allegations, referring us to their superiors.

Customers often cannot put names to faces but describe a pattern: sudden disconnections, threats of prolonged darkness, followed by “negotiations” and instant reconnections once cash changes hands.

According to ECG’s Code of Ethics, such practices are explicitly banned. Section 4.2 (“Acts of Dishonour”) prohibits staff from taking direct payments outside official channels. Section 4.5 bars negligence or delays in service. Yet, testimonies suggest these rules are flouted with impunity.

Revenue protection for sale

It is not only front-line staff. ECG’s Revenue Protection Department, tasked with inspecting customer meters and uncovering illegalities, is also accused of looking the other way.

“I was there when they came,” one resident explained. “They said my meter is not in the system. I told them my bills don’t come and I’ve been to the office many times. They asked me to pay for a new meter, but I said they should replace mine like they did for everyone during the soldier operation.”

Another said: “Sometimes they come and disconnect. We pay, and they reconnect.”

Such field-level deals keep illegal meters alive and deny ECG the revenue it desperately needs.

ECG admits a problem

Officials within ECG concede to the rot.

“No, nobody is supposed to receive cash from a customer,” Charles Nii Ayiku, ECG’s General Manager for External Communications, told The Fourth Estate. “Payment must be done using the app and the short code (*226#). In fact, every payment must go through this system.”

He acknowledged the problem was widespread: “I told you that I have heard, even two days ago, that our officers take money from the customers. I accepted that I have heard, and I know.”

Ms. Sakyiwaa Mensah, the Tema Regional PRO, explained that: “We [ECG] have gone cashless. The staff are not supposed to take physical cash on the field. Customers are encouraged to report any dealings of such to the company.”

Yet, both officials admitted customer complaints persist.

Energy Commission inspectors under scrutiny

The problem begins even earlier – before a meter is installed. Customers must pass an Energy Commission inspection certifying safe wiring. Official fees range from GHC 50 to GHC 250, depending on house size.

But residents say inspectors inflate charges.

When this journalist posed as a customer, Julius Dautey, an ECG staffer, quoted GHC 700 for Energy Commission fees, claiming the official amount is pegged at GHC 1,366 for a meter. According to him, the registration fee is about GHC 100, adding that “the express is GHC 2,236.50 … the premium is GHC 3,386.50.”

“After the wiring, the energy commission will come and inspect it, and sometimes if the wiring isn’t good, the work is rejected. But if I know where the work is done, because the energy commission guy is a close friend, I can talk to him for considerations,” Dautey told The Fourth Estate.

Crystal Godknows Adzagba, presenting himself as both ECG and Energy Commission personnel, quoted GHC 1,000 for inspection fees alone.

“The meter itself is GHC1,355.00. Approximately, everything should be GHC 2,500.00. But for now, you need just GHC 1,155.00 to start the process,” Adzagba told The Fourth Estate.

Yet, when checked, his name did not appear on the Energy Commission’s certified list.

A front desk officer at the Energy Commission, who only gave her name as Stella, confirmed that only Certified Electrical Wiring Professionals (CEWP) are authorised to conduct inspections.

“Yes, there is a standard charge… if a facility is overcharged, you can report it and the inspector will be sanctioned,” she said.

But in the Krobo District, the commission lists only one inspector. Consumers, meanwhile, face multiple “inspectors” charging inflated fees.

Meanwhile, ECG could not provide exact data on the number of sanctions or interdictions they once carried out. Rather, they referred to The Fourth Estate, a Joy News report.

According to the 2023 Joy News report, the ECG interdicted 13 staff members at its Accra East District office over alleged illegal power-related offences. Nothing can be found on the Energy Commission.

Though Officials admitted the practice, they were unable to provide us with accurate data on regularised illegal meters.

Information blackout

To quantify the scale of losses, this journalist filed a Right to Information (RTI) request on August 11, 2025, seeking data from ECG: the number of illegal meter cases, prepaid meters installed, and estimated revenue losses from 2019–2024.

Despite repeated follow-ups, ECG’s RTI unit refused to release the data.

The silence is telling. ECG’s customer charter promises “transparency and accountability in all dealings with the public.” But when asked for accountability, the company stonewalled.

The cost of corruption

The implications are severe. Each cedi diverted through unofficial cash payments is a cedi lost to ECG’s strained balance sheet. Ghana’s power sector is already drowning in debt. In June 2025, Energy Minister Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor revealed ECG owed GHC 67 billion, and in September 2025, ECG asked the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to approve a 225% increase in its distribution service charges.

Consumers are being asked to pay more – even as insiders drain the system through corrupt practices.

According to the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) recent report, ECG now loses more than GHS 9.7 billion annually due to inefficiencies, up from under GHS 3 million five years ago. Illegal connections alone cost over GHS 1.3 billion per year, and monthly uncollected revenue is estimated at about US$67 million.

These are marginal losses – they threaten the sustainability of the power sector and the wider economy.

According to the 2025 Energy Commission Statistics, residential electricity consumption surged by 86% in 2024. Meanwhile, ECG continues to post massive distribution losses, most of them commercial, not technical.

From wiring inspections to meter installations, Ghana’s electricity sector has become a shadow economy. What should be a simple, transparent process is now a marketplace of backdoor deals, bribes, and exploitation.

The losers are ordinary consumers – forced to pay inflated fees in cash, often without receipts – and the Ghanaian state, robbed of desperately needed revenue.

The author of this report, Bright T. Terkpernor, is a 2025 Fellow of the Next Generation Investigative Journalism Fellowship at the Media Foundation for West Africa.