The Chamber of Independent Power Producers of Ghana (IPPG), has suspended the planned shutdown of power plants following fruitful engagements with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The Chamber had in a memo, directed its members to shut down their plants from July 1 to July 8 if the government fails to pay 30 percent of the 1.73 billion dollars owed them.
But according to a statement released by the chamber on Friday, June 30th, the IPPs have agreed to keep operating their power plants after July 1, 2023.
As part of the understanding reached, all the IPPs have received an offer of payments from ECG to enable them to operate in the interim thereby providing the government of Ghana and ECG the needed grace period to address the outstanding arrears in the energy sector and to meet their contractual obligations.
The IPPs are optimistic that this agreement reached would help yield the desired outcome of providing a permanent resolution to the energy sector debt failing which the IPPs will be left with no other choice than to revert to their earlier decision to shut down without any further notice.
The IPPs in announcing the news decision acknowledged the valuable contributions of the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, and the members of the committee for their timely intervention in ensuring a fruitful engagement.
“The IPPs would also like to express their appreciation to their respective Lenders and shareholders for their support and involvement in these discussions for a resolution of the outstanding debt issues.”
The Chairman of the IPPs stated that “We are pleased to have reached an interim understanding with ECG, which enables us to continue our operations for the benefit of the good people of Ghana. We recognize the importance of our operations to the nation, and all the IPPs jointly remain committed to Ghana in delivering reliable power to the country. We also appreciate the support and collaboration we have received from the general public and all well-meaning Ghanaians throughout this process.”
The IPPs say they will individually remain actively engaged with the government and ECG in order to address the outstanding financial issues and will work on a sustainable resolution to address the issues at hand.
The Chamber is confident that a mutually beneficial solution can be achieved through ongoing cooperation to enable the Chamber to continue making its important contribution to the development and stability of the energy sector in the country and to the economy.
