The instrument is the Electrical Wiring Regulations, 2011, L.I. 2008. The making line says: “IN exercise of the power conferred on the Minister responsible for Energy by section 56 (1)of the Energy Commission Act, 1997 (Act 541) these Regulations are made this19th day of December, 2011.” The PDF has no commencement clause and no repeal clause. 19 December 2011 is the making date, not a later text. The file is not marked as a draft. The arrangement lists a Schedule, but the file ends at regulation 14. No Schedule text is in the file.
Regulation 1: “The purpose of these Regulations is to (a) establish the requirements, procedures and practices to ensure the enforcement of minimum standards of electrical wiring on premises; and (b) ensure the safety of persons, livestock and other property from hazards that arise from the presence, distribution and use of electrical energy.” Regulation 2(1) applies them to electrical installations where the nominal voltages do not exceed 1000 Volts a.c. and 1500 Volts d.c. between conductors, 600 Volts a.c and 900 Volts d.c. between conductors and earth, and 50 Volts a.c or 120 Volts ripple free d.c whether between conductors or to earth. This is not only a rule about who may work. Regulation 5(2): “A person shall not undertake electrical wiring on premises unless the wiring is carried out in accordance with the requirements provided in the Schedule.”
A later instrument is the Energy Commission (Electrical Wiring Cables and Electrical Wiring Accessories) Regulations, 2023, L.I. 2478. The making line says these Regulations are made this 27th day of October, 2023. The last page says “Date of Gazette notification: 20th November, 2023.” and “Entry into force: 19th December, 2023.” It does not say it amends or repeals L.I. 2008. L.I. 2008 itself is not repealed in either file. Regulation 2 applies L.I. 2478 to a designer of an electrical installation and to an installer of an electrical wiring cable or electrical wiring accessory. Regulation 6: “A person shall not install within a building or facility, an electrical wiring cable or electrical wiring accessory which (a) does not meet the Standards”.
L.I. 2008 does not name IEC 60364, GS IEC 60364, HD 60364, or BS 7671. Regulation 14 defines “Ghana Standards” as “the standards (GS FDGS 1009) prescribed by the Standards Authority in respect of these Regulations”. GS FDGS 1009 is not the Regulations. Its text was not in the file. L.I. 2478 is also not those Regulations. Its First Schedule is headed Minimum Standards and says: “In all cases, the latest edition of the referenced documents including amendments shall apply.” Item 35 is “GS IEC 60364-1” and “Low-voltage electrical installations – Part 1: Fundamental principles, assessment of general characteristics, definitions”. That sentence makes the listed edition mandatory for L.I. 2478. It does not make GS IEC 60364-1 into L.I. 2008.
Neither file sets a numeric conductor cross-section. Regulation 3(2) of L.I. 2008 says a conductor or equipment used for electrical wiring on premises shall be “of a suitable construction and size to prevent excessive temperature rise while in use”. Regulation 4(a) of L.I. 2478 says “the type and length of the flexible cable, and nominal cross-sectional area of the conductors of the electrical cord extension set or board meets the Standards”. No number is given. Neither text uses millimetre, square millimetre, mm, or mm².
Sources: https://www.energycom.gov.gh/index.php/regulation/electricity-transmission-and-distribution?download=24:electrical-wiring-regulations-2011-l-i-2008 https://www.energycom.gov.gh/index.php/regulation/electricity-transmission-and-distribution?download=719:electrical-wiring-cables-and-accessories-regulations-2023-l-i-2478
