The vice president of IMANI-Africa, Bright Simons, has indicated that in a move to address the financial challenges facing the energy sector government has mandated the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to secure $43 million every month for private power producers.
In a post on X platform, he revealed that ECG is required to allocate funds for its own operational needs and support other upstream actors, including transmission operators.
The decision comes amidst growing concerns about the sustainability of the country’s power sector and the need to ensure consistent and reliable electricity supply.
The government contends that the monthly payment from ECG to private power producers will help stabilize the sector by providing the necessary financial support to these entities.
Recently, the ECG halted power supply to Parliament House and Job 600, the office complex for Members of Parliament, due to an outstanding debt of GH¢23 million.
The disconnection was carried out by the National Taskforce on Thursday, February 29, as part of the ongoing “Operation Zero Balance” initiative by the power company task force.
This initiative aims to recover outstanding debts from various customers.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu constituency, John Jinapor, has attributed the ongoing power cuts in the nation, known as ‘dumsor’, to fuel shortages and the inefficiency of thermal power plants.
Power outages have persisted in Accra and various parts of the country for a considerable period.
Mr. Jinapor has called on the authorities responsible for the power sector to release a schedule for planned power outages, enabling Ghanaians to plan their activities accordingly.
“The minority side has been monitoring the power situation for the past month, and it appears, based on the information available to us, that the power sector is collapsing.
“Since February 2, there has been persistent and consistent load shedding by the generation companies; indeed, the load shedding is worsening by the day. The day the president was delivering SONA and boasting, there was some load-shedding happening,” Mr Jinapor said in an interview.
“Today at 12 pm, load shedding will commence again; our investigation indicates that some of our thermal plants are down, and there is a lack of fuel causing the load shedding. The handlers of the power sector should do the honourable thing by informing the people of Ghana so they can plan ahead of time.”