Hubtel deployed AI to help ECG identify suspected electricity theft – CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of Hubtel, Alex Bram, has disclosed that the company worked with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help identify customers suspected of stealing electricity.

He says the initiative was among the early applications developed by Hubtel’s AI laboratory, demonstrating how the technology could be used to address practical challenges facing businesses and public institutions in Ghana.

Mr Bram revealed that ECG provided the company with an opportunity to test its AI capabilities using electricity-related data, which he described as valuable to the power distributor.

“I think the biggest one that we announced was ECG. They gave us an opportunity to help them use AI to find people who could be stealing electricity. And that data was very helpful and still very helpful to ECG,” he disclosed.

Speaking in an interview ahead of the second episode of the Digital Economy Forum, Mr Bram explained that Hubtel began experimenting with artificial intelligence in 2022 before formally establishing an AI laboratory in 2023.

The company initially focused on developing its own AI models using machine learning and neural network technologies, working with businesses to test the systems it had built.

“We opened the lab in 2023. We’re very lucky to have gotten an opportunity with some companies to work on their data, to experiment with some of the models that we built. Some were quite successful,” he said.

The application of AI to improve productivity, strengthen public services and address economic challenges will form part of discussions at the second episode of the Digital Economy Forum, under the theme “AI and the Ghana Economy: Opportunity or Disruption?”

The forum, held in partnership with Hubtel, will feature the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam George; Economist and Technical Advisor at the Finance Ministry, Dr Theo Acheampong; Founder of AI for Ghana, Adam Watkins; Head of Engineering at Hubtel, Augustine Adjei; and Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons.

It will air live on JoyNews and Joy 99.7 FM on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 8 p.m.

AI’s potential to address electricity theft

Electricity theft remains a concern for power distributors because unauthorised consumption can result in revenue losses and undermine efforts to improve service delivery.

Artificial intelligence offers utilities the potential to analyse large volumes of consumption and billing data, identify unusual patterns and flag accounts that may require further investigation.

Such systems could help electricity providers target their investigations more effectively instead of relying exclusively on conventional monitoring and inspection methods.

His comments provide an example of a Ghanaian technology company exploring the application of AI to a challenge within the country’s energy sector.

Hubtel’s AI ambitions faced challenges

Despite recording some successes with its early AI experiments, Mr Bram disclosed that Hubtel eventually reconsidered its approach to developing AI models from scratch.

He explained that the company encountered significant challenges recruiting the specialised professionals required to build and improve its systems.

Hubtel initially sought to recruit approximately 30 machine learning engineers but struggled to find enough qualified personnel locally.

“One, we struggled with manpower. So when we started, we wanted to recruit, I believe, about 30 machine learning engineers. We just couldn’t find 30 in Ghana,” he revealed.

The company subsequently increased its recruitment budget substantially, but the search remained difficult.

“We increased the budget almost twice, and we still couldn’t find machine learning data scientists who were from Ghana. We offered very generous terms. We still couldn’t find, so our tech was a bit behind,” he explained.

Beyond the skills shortage, Hubtel also faced difficulties obtaining sufficient data to train and improve its AI systems.

Mr Bram said attempts to establish data-sharing arrangements with other companies were frustrated by uncertainty over how information could be exchanged.

“We realised there’s still no framework in Ghana for sharing data,” he said.

He explained that these challenges became more pronounced as international technology companies commercialised increasingly advanced AI models at relatively affordable subscription prices.

By late 2024 and into 2025, Hubtel had begun shifting from developing its own models towards using commercially available AI systems.

Hubtel CEO Alex Bram speaks to CNN Marketplace Africa

Lessons for Ghana’s AI development

Drawing on these experiences, Mr Bram urged the government to ensure that its planned national AI compute centre is supported by sufficient data and skilled professionals.

He welcomed Ghana’s decision to invest in AI infrastructure but maintained that building computing facilities without addressing the country’s data and skills challenges could limit the benefits.

“So that data framework is important. If that AI compute centre is to succeed, because when a computer centre is there, without the data, it’s nothing,” he stressed.

Mr Bram believes developing a national data-sharing framework, strengthening technical training and encouraging cooperation between government and private businesses will be essential to Ghana’s success in artificial intelligence.

He argued that investment in AI should ultimately translate into practical improvements in how businesses and public institutions operate.

Despite the difficulties Hubtel encountered, the CEO remains optimistic about Ghana’s technological future.

He believes the country has an opportunity to build on its early investments and make artificial intelligence useful across sectors, including manufacturing, agriculture and public services.

“I want to see more Ghanaians be better designers, be better manufacturers, be better farmers, be better agro-processors. Because they can find the answers to improving whatever it is that they are doing. If we get it right, we would be a country on the path of an accelerated development into a very, very bright future,” he said.

For Mr Bram, the experience of applying AI to challenges such as suspected electricity theft provides a glimpse of the opportunities the technology could offer Ghana if the right investments and capabilities are developed.