In 2025, the story of Ghana’s energy sector took a worrying turn. A new analysis by the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE), led by Benjamin Nsiah, revealed mounting concerns over the country’s increasing dependence on expensive liquid fuels to keep the lights on.
For years, Ghana’s power plants have relied on natural gas as their main source of fuel, with liquid fuels such as Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), Diesel Fuel Oil (DFO), and Light Crude Oil (LCO) serving as backup during gas shortages. But as the supply of natural gas faltered between 2021 and 2025, backup fuels became the mainstay. The cost of this shift has proven staggering.
The CEMSE report found that thermal generation continues to dominate Ghana’s electricity sector, making up about 70 percent of the nation’s dependable generation capacity by 2025. As gas supply disruptions became more frequent, power producers increasingly turned to liquid fuels, at a steep financial cost.
The numbers tell a dramatic story. In 2025, the use of Heavy Fuel Oil for power generation surged to 133,237 metric tonnes, a jaw-dropping 947 percent increase from the previous year. The bill for this HFO alone was estimated at US$80.6 million. Diesel Fuel Oil, which had been used only sparingly in 2021 and 2022, saw a significant jump in consumption, with costs reaching US$32.39 million in 2025.
Light Crude Oil imports for power plants also soared, from US$36.57 million in 2024 to about US$116.8 million in 2025, a 210 percent spike. Altogether, the combined cost of HFO, DFO, and LCO for the year hit an eye-watering US$229.89 million, translating to roughly US$19.16 million in monthly expenditure.
CEMSE’s analysis warned that these escalating costs are not fully accounted for in Ghana’s electricity tariffs. This means the government is forced to rely heavily on petroleum levies to keep the sector afloat, further straining public finances. The report attributed the growing reliance on liquid fuels to persistent deficits in natural gas supply, a trend, it warned, that jeopardizes the financial sustainability of the entire energy sector.
With the threat of mounting debt and instability looming, CEMSE called for urgent action. The Centre urged policymakers to address gas supply challenges, diversify the country’s energy sources, improve fuel procurement practices, and reduce Ghana’s exposure to expensive liquid fuels. Only through these steps, the report emphasized, can Ghana secure a more stable and affordable energy future.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com