President John Dramani Mahama has rejected claims that Ghana is experiencing power shortages, insisting that electricity supply across the country is adequate.
He said the situation had improved following his government’s efforts to address outstanding financial obligations in the energy sector, particularly debts owed to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
Addressing members of the Ghanaian diaspora in Russia during the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, President Mahama declared that the country was no longer experiencing the power outages commonly referred to as ‘dumsor’.
“With regards to energy, there’s no, I can report there’s no dumsor in Ghana. Everybody has adequate power,” he stated.
The President disclosed that his administration inherited approximately US$1.7 billion in unpaid obligations to IPPs, with some power producers threatening to suspend electricity supply because of the outstanding payments.
He said the government had also accumulated debts for natural gas supplied from the Jubilee Field and by ENI, adding to the financial difficulties in the energy sector.
“When we came we owed all the IPPs and they were threatening to shut off power. Because the IPP debt was about 1.7 billion dollars and then apart from that, we have consumed gas from Jubilee Field, from ENI and had not paid for it, we owed for gas supplied,” he said.
Mahama explained that his government prioritised settling the outstanding obligations to prevent disruptions in electricity generation and restore confidence among power producers.
He announced that the debt owed to IPPs had now been cleared, adding that the government was making payments for electricity supplied as they fall due.
“I’m happy to announce that we have cleared the IPP debt. That is, we are current, any energy they supply today, we are paying them,” he said.
He further explained that the government had introduced a payment arrangement involving an initial down payment, followed by the settlement of subsequent bills on their due dates.
According to him, the arrangement has helped address the concerns of power producers and strengthened their confidence in the government’s ability to meet its payment obligations.
“And every payment that is due to them on the due date, we pay them and so the IPPs are satisfied,” he added.
Mahama maintained that the government’s efforts to clear the outstanding obligations have helped secure electricity supply and ensure that power producers continue to receive payment for the energy they generate.
