Ghana: Gov’t Saves $13.2 Billion Through Renegotiated Power Deals

The Government of Ghana has saved an amount of $13.2 billion from the renegotiated power purchase agreement signed by the previous administration with six Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

The PPAs which Ghana has made the quantum of amount are Karpower, Cenpower, Early Power, Twin City Energy (formerly Amandi), AKSA Energy and Cenit.

“These renegotiated agreements are expected to have savings estimated at $13.2 billion over the life of the PPAs through a combination of reduced capacity and energy charges. In other words, we are saving the Ghanaian taxpayer $13.2 billion from power contracts signed by the previous administration,” Ghana’s Minister for Finance Ken Ofori-Atta said on Monday during the Mid-Year Budget presentation in Parliament.

He said the renegotiated deal provides balanced and sustainable energy partnerships that have led to affordable power for industrial, commercial and residential use.

Touching on happenings in the energy sector, Mr Ofori-Atta said the raft of sanctions imposed on Russia is tightening supply conditions for energy products.

In response, he stated that the government is closely monitoring the stock of products at all depots.

“The timely intervention of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), through the Special Forex Auction mechanism, is also expected to sustain the continuous supply of petroleum products in Ghana,” he added.

The development, he argued, has caused disruptions in power supply causes to businesses-large and small from factories to hairdressing salons.

“As part of measures to improve transmission and reliability of power supply and expand energy to all Ghanaians, we have, between January to date, completed the Kasoa Bulk Supply Point (BSP) Project which comprises the reconstruction of a section of GRIDCO’s 161kV Winneba-Mallam transmission lines and tie-in-works.”

He added that the government has also advanced the Volta-Achimota Lot of the 161KV Volta-Achimota-Mallam Transmission Line Upgrade Project to 85 per cent, from 83 per cent.

He stated that the government has also connected 58 communities to the national grid as of the end of June 2022 with several communities at various stages of completion.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com