Households and businesses are at risk of a relatively significant intermittent power outage in the coming days, as the country has less than three days’ worth of fuel to keep its power plants running.
The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, announced a looming power crisis while revealing Karpowership’s plant shutdown within the next 48 hours owing to debt o,wed by the government.
“As I sit here, my next headache is how to get the next parcel of liquid fuel. The fuel we have would take us 2.6 days. We’ve placed an order for fuel, but it has to be paid. We’ve procured some fuel on credit and we are working with the Minister of Finance to pay, but the truth is that the Ministry of Finance also has its limit, and so we would be going to Cabinet to discuss how we can improve on the sector…” he said during a press engagement yesterday, May 15.
In light of this, Mr Jinapor reiterated calls for private sector participation to help stabilise Ghana’s struggling energy sector, though acknowledging that “ it doesn’t entirely solve the problem.”
“..it takes us to another level because if the collections are reduced from 40% to say, 5%, it means they will be collecting more.”
Ghana will this year spend over $1 billion on expensive liquid fuels to power the plants — a burden on the economy and on ordinary citizens, according to the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
The Energy Minister and Finance Minister on Thursday met with key sector leaders from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Volta River Authority (VRA), the Energy Commission, GRIDCo, and other stakeholders yesterday to deliberate on effective and sustainable solutions to strengthen Ghana’s power sector.
Following the meeting, all Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have been directed by the sector minister to make provisions in their budget to cover their electricity bills.
This forms part of the government’s efforts to ease the sole financial burden on the government and promote efficient and accountable power consumption at the local government level.
“The Cabinet has also adopted a position, and we will brief you, chairman, that all MMDAS are supposed to pay for their electricity bills. They have to budget for it.”
However, critical sectors and institutions such as the health and education sectors, as well as security agencies and the presidency, will have their consumption settled by the government.
The sector minister, however, noted that “if you take the health sector, it’s the theatres, laboratories, the wards that would be exempted. If you take the educational institutions, dorms aren’t part, restaurants aren’t part. Only lecture theaters, so we have classified that, and the cabinet is granting approval and will publish that.”
Thursday’s meeting concluded with a strong, collective commitment to take decisive and coordinated action to stabilise the sector, enhance operational efficiency, and support ongoing reforms under the Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP). Key among these actions is the prioritisation of sustainable financial strategies and policy interventions to ensure a reliable, affordable electricity supply while safeguarding the broader economy.
Ghana and Kapowership deal
This is not the first time Karpowership has warned the government of a shutdown over its debt. In January this year, the company warned of a shutdown over a $270 million debt owed by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). Additionally, in March, Karpowership issued another warning over a $379 million debt, raising concerns about a potential power crisis.
This prompted an urgent meeting between Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and Karpowership officials to negotiate a resolution; however, it appears the discussions ended without a definitive agreement.
Ghana’s energy crisis
Ghana is currently facing a severe energy crisis evident in the frequent power outages, financial struggles, and fuel shortages. The government is urgently seeking GH₵1.1 billion for fuel procurement.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on the other hand, is facing a monthly deficit of GH₵2 billion due to poor revenue collection, making it difficult to pay independent power producers, who have threatened to suspend operations.
Government’s efforts to deal with energy sector crisis
In March this year, Mr Jinapor announced the government’s plans to construct a second gas processing plant to augment the shortfall and increase supply security.
Minister for Energy & Green Transition John Abdulai Jinapor and Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, on Monday afternoon, inaugurated the Implementation Committee for Ghana’s Second Gas Processing Plant (GPP II).
The finance minister noted that the project, which is “long overdue” will enable the country to save “nearly $500 million and create over 1,000 jobs for our people.”
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has issued a 4-week timeline to the Implementation Committee for Ghana’s Second Gas Processing Plant (GPP II) to finalise their implementation plan.
