Due to the fact that the Chamber of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) has instructed its members to begin withholding power from the national grid on July 1st, an impending power crisis is looming.
Until July 8th, the command to not nominate anything and to not notify the availability of power to the system operator will be in effect.
Companies such as Sunon Asogli, Cenpower, Karpowership, AKSA, Twin City Energy, and CENIT are included among the Chamber’s membership.
“Further to our planned industrial action on July 1, 2023, we would like each IPP to nominate nothing (zero nominations) and not declare an availability to the System Operator, beginning July 1 to July 8, 2023,” the Chamber wrote in an email directed at its members, which was seen by Citi News.
Dumsor looms as power suppliers suspend services from July 1
The Independent Power Producers have only one day left until the deadline they set for themselves to shut down over outstanding debts; nevertheless, the group has not yet met with the government in order to receive a favorable response, which is what prompted this most recent order.
It was anticipated that the two parties would meet this week in order to reach an agreement on the requests for a thirty percent interim payment of the arrears.
The independent power producers (IPPs) argue that if they do not receive payment by the end of the month of June, they will not be able to keep the national system running.
The final sentence of the email stated, “We are determined to get results at any cost.”
Independent power producers play an important part in Ghana’s energy sector, controlling 47 percent of the country’s overall power generation mix and supplying 67 percent of Ghana’s thermal power. This percentage represents a major portion of the country’s total power generation.
As of the beginning of May 2021, the cumulative outstanding debt that the six companies claim to be responsible for amounts to around 1.73 billion cedis, and the debt was incurred in January 2021.
The independent power producers note that their inability to access working capital as a result of their debt has prevented them from funding essential inputs such as chemicals used for water treatment in thermal generators and other supplies. Many of these inputs are priced in a foreign currency, most notably the United States dollar.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Independent Power Producers, Distributors, and Bulk Consumers (CIPDiB), Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor, stated that they were unable to persuade creditors, contractors, and other critical stakeholders to further delay payments and keep operations going.
We are essentially stating that we do not have the resources necessary to continue generation beyond the 30th of June, and we are giving them [the Finance Ministry] the month of March as an extension. We didn’t hear from them, but the fact is that beyond June, we just won’t be able to continue to supply because we don’t have the resources.
The Independent Power Producers (IPPs) have also turned down any proposal to restructure Ghana’s debt because they are unable to convince their creditors that Ghana’s economy is in shambles and that they will be unable to repay their loan.
