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It has now emerged that the new owners of Ghana's electricity company, Power Distribution Services (PDS), are the latest culprits to have been at the origin of the many power cuts that have shaken Ghana in recent weeks and are still going on.
The CIPDIB (Chamber of Independent Power Producers, Distributors and Wholesale Consumers) revealed that the PDS had not made any payments for the electricity provided during the last four months.
PDS, Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor, of the CIPDIB, revealed that PDS had also arrogantly refused to meet electricity producers to explain their potential difficulties with the non-payment of power.
In a press, he also accused PDS of poor business practices.
"With regard to PPIs, it was expected that the PDS would respect and respect the terms of inherited electricity purchase agreements (PPAs) in particular by avoiding the delay in the payment of electricity purchases by respecting the negotiated credit days.
"Unfortunately, the PDS seems to relive some of the very bad contractual and commercial practices that characterized its host, the ECG. Energy can not be stored or destroyed. This presupposes that consumers pay for the energy consumed and that PDS accumulates revenues. It is very frustrating that for the past four months, since March 1, 2019, PDS has not yet paid any PPI payments! ", Did he declare.
PDS, the Philippine company, has been awarded the ECG concession under the Millennium Development Authority pact to effectively manage the distribution and retailing of electricity. According to the agreement, PDS was taking the ECG on a white table, the debts being supposed to be spared.
There are many reports that nothing has changed since the takeover of PDS: it is the same power cuts in one direction or in the other that are rife in Ghana.
Until now, the biggest persistent and insoluble headache in Ghana has been inadequate power generation. This has prompted previous governments to take ill-considered reactions by signing up with several private power companies without looking more closely at the unit cost of production and affordability levels of Ghanaians and companies.
President Akufo-Addo recently accused his predecessor John Mahama of leaving a $ 1.5 billion US debt in the energy sector. It should be noted that the John Mahama government enacted the Energy Sector Perception Act (HALS) to lock in and repay the debt cycle in the sector in record time. However, the NPP government has used accumulations, totaling more than billions of dollars, to make certain payments in public sector wages.
The way this government behavior can be integrated with reason is a big challenge. A portion of the supposed $ 1.5 billion is due to independent power producers. Having taken control of the ECG on a white board, PDS has no reason to refuse to pay PPIs in the last four months. Not to mention PDS providing free energy to Ghanaians! Power to citizens in Ghana is not free. They pay as most of them have prepaid counters.
Nine PPIs, including Asogli, Karpower, ENI and Ameri, currently in operation, generate 50% of total electricity generation in an area of 1,500 megawatts. They are therefore essential players in the energy sector and any attempt to frustrate them can only be chaotic.
"Limited by these existential threats, the Chamber of Independent Power Producers and Heavy Consumers [CIPDIB], warns the consumer public of upcoming power outages, unless PDS fulfills its financial obligations with respect to the IPPs within 7 days. We caution that if PDS does not comply with the terms of the APP and makes a payment to the PPIs within 7 days; our members will have no choice but to close their factories because they can not continue to be in debt with huge debts. This action, even if it has huge implications for jobs, can not be avoided, "warned their managing director.
The Chamber also lamented that the non-payment of PDS has caused them untold hardship because they owe it to their suppliers, their workers and their banks.
Furthermore? Ghana's gas enclave in the western region is heavily underutilized. Much more is produced, but Ghana does not make the most of it to supply power plants. GhanaGrid Company owes millions to Ghana Gas for the gas supplied. Another puzzle is that the case of the labyrinthine sector of the energy sector in Ghana is likely to be resolved.
The experts said Ghana should conduct a thorough review and complete overhaul of the energy sector, in a forthright and transparent manner, and take bold steps to meet the challenges of production, distribution and sale of electricity.
In the meantime, the seven-day threat to IPPs must be taken seriously, otherwise the entire country would be plunged into chaos. Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said today at a ministerial retreat in Peduase that the issue is under discussion.
"The Minister of Energy has been tasked to dialogue with energy producers, understand the energy situation and find the way forward to solve problems and solve problems," he said. did he declare.
On the same show, Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor, General Manager of the Chamber of Independent Power Producers, said that the PDS owed about US $ 300 million in the last four months.
The PDS must cause real damage in Ghana's energy sector. The sooner they are approached, the better.
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