Switching from postpaid to prepaid meters and electricity consumption in Ghana

Kwami Adanu, Wisdom Akpalu and Eric Kuada

Utilities Policy, 2025, vol. 95, issue C

Abstract: We investigate the immediate to medium-term effects of switching residential electricity consumers in Ghana from postpaid to prepaid metering at different periods. The study uses covariate matching, propensity score matching, and difference-in-difference estimators. The results indicate that switching consumers from postpaid to prepaid meters reduces average electricity consumption. This decline in electricity consumption is, however, tenuous as it is gradually reversed as the treatment exposure period increases. The results suggest that prepaid metering adoption may increase household electricity consumption if prepaid meters measure consumption more accurately than postpaid meters. The results highlight the need to account for the treatment exposure period in estimating the effect of prepaid meter adoption.

Keywords: Electricity consumption; Prepaid; Postpaid; Switching (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:juipol:v:95:y:2025:i:c:s0957178725000645

DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2025.101949

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