The Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA) was introduced to address longstanding challenges in Ghana’s energy sector, including rising debt, fragmented levies and weak coordination of financial resources. The Act aimed to consolidate existing energy sector levies, establish price stabilization and recovery mechanisms, and support sustainable long-term investment in the sector.
Since its passage, ESLA has undergone several changes, including amendments, repeals and the introduction of new levies, reflecting its evolving role within the energy and fiscal framework over the past decade.
To mark ten years of the Act’s implementation, the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) convened a media roundtable to evaluate ESLA’s effectiveness. The discussion examined the Act’s impact on debt reduction, its operational strengths and weaknesses, and its relevance to future energy sector and fiscal reforms.
Participants noted that although ESLA has provided some liquidity relief to the sector, deeper structural challenges within the power sector continue to drive revenue under-recoveries and accumulated shortfalls. The roundtable underscored the need for comprehensive reforms, including stricter enforcement of loss-reduction targets, improved metering systems, stronger procurement processes and more resilient utility institutions.
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