Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, has announced that the government plans to regulate electric vehicle (EV) charging stations due to the rapid growth.
According to the Energy Minister, EV charging stations are putting pressure on electricity infrastructure in parts of the country, which leads to transformer failures.
Dr Jinapor announced at the 2026 Future of Energy Conference that new legislation is before Parliament, which will mandate Energy Commission approval for EV charging stations to be set up in a move to manage grid strain from rapid EV growth and fast-charging tech overloading transformers.
Speaking at the 2026 Future of Energy Conference in Accra on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, Dr Jinapor stated, “While Nigeria is investing in solar systems, particularly for homes, in Ghana we are importing a lot of EV vehicles. Ghana currently has the highest number of electric vehicles in Africa.
Research shows that when you use EV vehicles, you save about 40% on the cost of fuel alone. So naturally, Ghanaians are opting for EV vehicles.
But that provides us with a challenge: how do you provide reliable energy to power industrialisation, in light of EV vehicles being deployed in the country?”.
He further disclosed that legislation currently before Parliament seeks to regulate EV usage and charging stations so that the growth can be managed properly without putting pressure on the power supply for homes, businesses, and industries.
Dr Jinapor added, “We observe a certain trend. People seeing that opportunity have started setting up EV charging stations. With new technology, in 5 to 10 minutes you are able to charge your EV.
But that will consume a lot of electricity. What we witness is that people set up EV charging stations and immediately the transformer gets blown. So what we are saying is that you’d need permission to set up those EV charging stations from the Energy Commission.
That gives us the opportunity to reinforce the grid, to install more transformers so that by the time you are ready, we can accommodate your charging station. Other than that, it will keep collapsing the transformers in that vicinity”.
Some netizens reacting to the development stated, “Heavy industrial areas plus those running cold stores who even run illegal connections don’t even put pressure on transformers na EV stations. Just find a way to take tax to fund your absurd lifestyles”.
One X user added, “Data centres need more electricity for cooling and storage. Residential homes, Commercial and Industrial services rely on the same power as EVs. We do not generate that much to provide electricity to all these collective entities”.
A netizen added, “Your govt just imported 10K electric bikes, did you also think charging stations for the bikes will put pressure on your transformers??”.
One last X user added, “This is in fact admission to successive govt failure to improve infrastructure to catch up with technological trends. This legislation will only be an obstacle to innovation, since bureaucrats are going to turn it into a corruption process. It’s only going to get worse. I would rather encourage, through govt policy, solar panel subsidy for roofing to free up more energy to accommodate this new wave of industrial demand”.
Watch the video below:
Government is moving to regulate electric vehicle (EV) charging stations as rapid deployment puts pressure on electricity transformers.
— CITI FM 97.3 (@Citi973) August 25, 2026
Energy and Green Transition Minister Dr John Abdullai Jinapor says legislation before Parliament will require EV charging station operators to… pic.twitter.com/B07VVuJ95j
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