A review of trends, policies and plans for increasing energy access in Ghana

The need to secure future energy in the forms of electricity and modern cooking fuels is recognized as critical to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, particularly poverty reduction, ensuring improved education, health, water supply and environmental sustainability. This paper presents a review of the trends, policies, plans and programmes for increasing energy access in Ghana with primary focus on electricity, cooking fuels and renewable energy. The paper argues that even though governments over the years have had the provision of energy services high on the national development agenda, past and existing policies and plans have not delivered effective results to accelerate energy access, especially in the rural and peri-urban areas where the services are badly needed. The paper therefore calls for a coherent national energy policy with inputs from a wider section of the public that has precise targets and clearly laid down strategies, including financing mechanisms to achieve the targets.