Energy Commission, USAID Train 44 Wiring Professionals in Northern Ghana
The Energy Commission of Ghana (EC), in collaboration with the USAID-funded Power Africa West Africa Energy Program (Power Africa), organized a graduation ceremony on 20 July 2022 to certify 44 wiring professionals in Northern Ghana, including 10 women.
The ceremony recognizes their successful completion of EC training for wiring professionals and a certification examination.
USAID and Power Africa sponsored the four-week training from 29 September – 2 November 2021 in collaboration with the EC to increase the number of Certified Electrical Wiring Professionals in Ghana, with the end goal of increasing access to reliable and affordable grid-based power in Ghana.
Since the inception of the implementation of Ghana’s Electrical Wiring Regulations Law in February 2012, the EC has certified dozens of professionals. However, many practitioners continue to wire facilities without the appropriate certification and related training, resulting in the need for rewiring, unsafe installations, and increased connection costs, particularly for rural households. The use of unskilled electricians is usually based on limited financial capacity to pay for training and to register for the Wiring Examinations.
USAID and Power Africa commend Ghana’s Energy Commission for passing the Electrical Wiring Regulations Law (LI 2008) and for their partnership in training professional artisans to legally engage in professional electrical wiring and installation.
The training took place at the Dabokpa Technical Institute in Tamale, Northern Region. Out of the 50 registered and trained participants, 44 were successful in the certification examinations, which now qualifies them as Certified Electrical Wiring Professionals (CEWPs).
This also includes 10 female artisans, whose successful qualification has increased the number of female wiring artisans in Ghana by 100 per cent.
The Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission has expressed his deepest gratitude to USAID for its immense contribution, particularly to increasing the number of certified female wiring artisans.
“We believe that participants have been presented with viable opportunities to enhance and refine their skills to ultimately generate income. Thanks to USAID and Power Africa for covering the logistical, tuition and certification costs/fees for all 44 wiring professionals and for presenting each of them with necessary toolkits to start them off in their career…” Power Africa will continue to work with Ghana’s Energy Commission and the Government of Ghana to improve access to affordable and reliable electricity.
About the USAID-funded Power Africa West Africa Energy Programme
The USAID-funded Power Africa West Africa Energy Program is an integral piece of Power Africa, a USAID-coordinated
an initiative that is bringing together technical and legal experts, the private sector, and governments from around the world to
work in partnership to increase the number of people with access to power in Africa. The Program seeks to expand the supply of
and access to affordable and reliable grid-connected electricity services through technical assistance, capacity building, and
transaction support in Ghana and West Africa as a whole. Since 2019, the Program has been supporting the Government of
Ghana and national utility and regulatory bodies to optimize power supply and increase access to reliable and affordable grid-based
power and improve the performance of National Utilities and Power Sector Entities.
About the Energy Commission
The Energy Commission is a statutory corporate body with perpetual succession and a common seal established by an Act of
the Ghanaian Parliament, the Energy Commission Act, 1997 (Act 541).
The Energy Commission is mandated to regulate and manage the development and utilization of energy resources in Ghana to ensure the provision of affordable energy supplies in a reliable, efficient and secure manner in order to promote the social and economic well-being of the people of Ghana, enhance environmental quality and public safety.