The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has called for the dismissal of the management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) due to alleged mismanagement and poor revenue mobilisation.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, September 19, 2024, ACEP’s policy lead on petroleum and conventional energy, Kodzo Yaotse, highlighted a sharp increase in ECG’s revenue losses, which ballooned from GH¢295 million in 2017 to GH¢9.7 billion by 2022.
Kodzo Yaotse warned that ECG’s financial underperformance is creating a growing fiscal burden on the economy, which could undo the progress achieved through domestic and international debt restructuring efforts. He expressed concern that Ghana could face another debt crisis due to mounting Independent Power Producer (IPP) debts and growing demands from gas suppliers and transporters.
“The growing fiscal burden imposed on the economy by ECG’s poor performance has become a ticking time bomb that can undermine the progress made after the domestic and international debt restructuring to keep Ghana solvent.
“With the level of debt accumulation and the intervention required of the state, it is just a matter of time before Ghana is plunged into another debt crisis. With IPP debt mounting and gas suppliers and transporters demanding payments, the pressure on the government to sacrifice social investment is high.”
He also noted that the Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP) estimated power sector shortfalls of about US$8.25 billion between 2019 and 2023, labelling it as a waste of public funds that must be addressed immediately.
“The political lethargy to enable ECG to deliver value to the people of Ghana continues to hurt Ghana’s budget and, by extension, development efforts. The Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP) estimates that realised power sector shortfalls between 2019 and 2023 were about US$8.25 billion.
“This is a sheer waste of public resources that cannot persist. In light of the above.”
