Ghana:EV charging stations must get Energy Commission approval – Jinapor

The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, has outlined regulatory measures to manage the growing impact of electric vehicles (EVs) on Ghana’s power grid, following the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) approval of a dedicated electricity tariff for public EV charging.

The approved tariff of GH¢2.016 per kilowatt-hour, effective April 1, marks a key step toward formalising Ghana’s electric mobility ecosystem.

Speaking before Parliament’s Assurance Committee on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, Jinapor emphasised that while the Ministry of Transport oversees transportation, the Ministry of Energy is responsible for electricity supply.

“The concern of the Ministry of Energy is that these vehicles are consuming electricity, and they are having a significant impact on electricity supply, especially in urban areas,” Jinapor said.

He added that the Energy Commission has already formulated a legislative instrument (LI) requiring approval before establishing EV charging stations.

“If you want to establish a charging station, you must have approval from the Ministry of Energy through the Energy Commission. You can buy whatever vehicle you want; we don’t have any issue with that. But if you want to connect it to our grid, we need to plan for the capacity, the types of vehicles, and the rates we will charge,” he said.

Jinapor stressed that this regulation is necessary to prevent local surges in power consumption and ensure the national grid can safely accommodate EV charging infrastructure.

“Because then we will plan to know the kinds of vehicles you will be charging, the capacity, and even the rate you will be charging those coming to charge their vehicle. Is the transformer in the area even able to accommodate the charging port you intend to put in the area?

“So that we will not be witnessing a surge in power consumption because of the presence of a charging station in a particular area,” he added.

Citinewsroom.com