Ghana – Africa’s largest gold producer – is modernizing its electricity grid to ensure reliable power supplies for mining companies as part of a broader strategy to maximize growth across its extractive sector. In November 2025, Ghana announced a GH¢22 billion energy sector reform program aimed at clearing legacy debts, stabilizing long-term power contracts and strengthening the nexus between the energy and gold industries.
Of the total funding, GH¢15.2 billion will help address accumulated energy sector shortfall payments, while GH¢4.8 billion will be used to settle legacy debts owed to independent power producers, helping to ensure uninterrupted supply to the mining industry and the wider economy. A further GH¢2 billion will finance Phase 1 of the Rural Electricity Acceleration and Urban Intensification Initiative, which is expected to benefit mining projects, many of which are located in remote areas. The reform package also supports Ghana’s gas-to-power strategy, including plans for a 1,200 MW thermal power plant scheduled for construction in 2026. Using domestically sourced gas from the Offshore Cape Three Points fields and the Ghana Gas Processing Plant, the facility is expected to improve energy affordability and enhance profitability for mining companies. In parallel, state-owned Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), in partnership with Turkey’s AKSA Enerji, is finalizing the integration of the 141 MW AKSA Anwomaso power plant into the national grid to further boost electricity supply.
Ghana is also prioritizing transmission infrastructure upgrades to ensure resilient power distribution from generation hubs to mining regions. The country is rolling out around 200 new transformers across major urban centers to strengthen nationwide transmission capacity. At the regional level, GRIDCo and the Ivory Coast’s state utility CI-ENERGIES launched a 330 kV double-circuit interconnection reinforcement project in mid-2025. Funded by the World Bank, the project includes new high-capacity transmission lines and substations linking Dunkwa to Elubo in Ghana and extending to Bingerville in the Ivory Coast. Once completed, the project is expected to enable Ghana to access additional electricity from the West African Power Pool to power its burgeoning mining sector.
With Ghana’s mining sector attracting $1.2 billion in foreign direct investment in 2024, ongoing efforts to secure reliable electricity supplies for industrial growth present an opportunity to further strengthen investor confidence and accelerate the expansion of the mining industry.
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