By Barbara Nwaiwu
Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor, has called for greater standardisation and regulation of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure as the country prepares for rising electricity demand from growing EV adoption.
Jinapor made the call on Tuesday, while speaking at the 2026 Future of Energy Conference (FEC) in Accra, where he said the increasing use of EVs, alongside rising electricity needs from industries, mines, data centres and businesses, required deliberate planning to prevent pressure on the national power grid.
He said the government was working to ensure that the growth of electric mobility was matched by adequate investment in electricity generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.
“Our research shows that when you use EV vehicles, you save about 40% on the cost of fuel alone. So naturally, Ghanaians are opting for EV vehicles,” he observed.
The minister said the transition to electric mobility offered economic and environmental benefits but warned that the uncoordinated expansion of charging infrastructure could create challenges for the electricity distribution system.
He said Ghana leads the African market for EV vehicles, adding that some private operators were establishing charging stations using technologies capable of charging vehicles within 10 to 15 minutes.
Jinapor cautioned that such fast-charging systems could draw significant amounts of electricity from the grid, particularly where high-demand charging facilities were concentrated without adequate planning for local distribution networks and transformers.
“So what we are saying is that you’d need permission to set up those EV charging stations from the Energy Commission. That gives us the opportunity to reinforce the grid to install more transformers to accommodate the charging stations,” he said.
The Energy Commission has directed individuals, companies and institutions intending to install or operate EV charging stations and battery-swap systems to obtain prior approval from the Commission.
The Commission is also developing regulations for EV charging infrastructure and battery-swap systems in collaboration with the Ghana Standards Authority. The proposed framework covers residential, workplace, public and commercial charging infrastructure, as well as safety and consumer protection.
Ghana’s electric mobility drive is also supported by the Energy Commission’s Drive Electric Initiative, launched in 2019 to promote electric mobility and the development of charging infrastructure.
The Commission has demonstrated the use of renewable energy for EV charging through a solar-powered DC fast-charging station at its headquarters in Accra. The facility uses 105 solar photovoltaic panels with a combined capacity of 61.43 kilowatts, supported by a 60-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery.
Jinapor also stressed that Ghana’s industrialisation ambitions would be difficult to achieve without reliable and competitively priced electricity.
He acknowledged that no economy had industrialised without cheap power, stressing the need for electricity supply that would allow industries to plan and remain competitive.
“You simply cannot industrialise without energy,” he stated. “Industrialision requires electricity at scale; not just the electricity buy reliable electricity, predictable tariffs so that industries can plan and good power quality.”
He said energy planning must anticipate future demand rather than respond only after new electricity loads have emerged.
The anticipated increase in electricity consumption is expected to come from sectors including manufacturing, mining, electric mobility, digital infrastructure, data centres, commercial businesses and modern agriculture.
The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, said energy and industrial policy needed to be considered together if Ghana was to add value to its natural resources.
“We have spent considerable time talking about industrailisation and adding value to our national resources, but industrial production requires competitive input, and energy is one of them the important.”
“Processing requires energy, manufacturing requires energy, modern agriculture increasingly depend electricity while digital infrastructure depends on reliable power,” he noted.
The 2026 conference organised by ACEP, is being held under the theme, “Powering Africa’s Industrial Transformation: Energy Systems for Value Addition and Competitiveness.” The conference is taking place in Accra on August 25 and 26.
