Ghana: Gov’t Suspends Concession Agreement With PDS

Government of Ghana has, with immediate effect, suspended its concession agreement with Power Distribution Services (Ghana) Limited.

PDS took over the power distribution business from the state power distributor, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), from March 1, 2019.

However, barely four months into its operation, government has suspended the deal.

A statement from the Ministry of Information said the decision was taken after government had discovered some breaches in the company’s obligation in the provision of payment securities.

It would be recalled that the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the West African country threatened to shutdown their power plants over failure of ECG/ PDS to settle their huge indebtedness to the tune of about $700m.

After weeks of debate, the Ministry of Finance intervened by releasing an amount of GHc 200m to settle part of the debts.

It is not clear whether the recent issue also influenced government’s decision to suspend the deal.