The AKSA Energy power plant was utilised for only 16% of its contracted capacity during its first five years in Ghana, meaning the country paid for capacity that was largely not used, Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, has said.

Speaking on TV3’s The Key Points on Saturday, August 15, 2026, Boakye said the low utilisation of the plant raised serious questions about the value Ghana derived from the agreement.

“For the first five years, almost six years that the plant existed in Ghana, it was utilised 16% of the contracted capacity,” he said.

He explained that despite the low utilisation, Ghana was required under the take-or-pay arrangement to pay the full capacity charge.

“So, in most cases, we just paid and you never used the plant,” Boakye stated.

According to him, data from the Energy Commission showed that the plant generated power for only 16% of the time it was expected to operate, while Ghana continued to pay 100% of the capacity charge.

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Boakye further argued that the AKSA plant was among the less efficient plants in Ghana’s power generation fleet and was therefore lower on the merit-order dispatch system.

He explained that power plants are dispatched based on their efficiency, with plants that generate more electricity from the available fuel being prioritised over less efficient facilities.

“When we did the math, it was not right,” he said, adding that ACEP had concerns about the cost of procuring the plant and its ability to operate efficiently.
He said the contracted tariff, including capacity and variable charges, amounted to about 4.5 cents per kilowatt-hour and could result in Ghana paying roughly $720 million over five years for the 370-megawatt plant.

Boakye also questioned whether the technical assessment conducted before the agreement was signed adequately determined the condition, age and value of the plant.

He stressed that the technical committee's assessment should have been a critical component of the decision-making process before the government committed to the agreement.

MRA/VPO

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