Ghana: IMF Backs Hikes In Electricity, Water Tariffs For Q2
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has endorsed the recent increases in electricity and water utilities tariffs in Ghana, which is expected to take effect from May 3, 2025.
According to Stephane Roudet, IMF Mission Chief to Ghana, the tariff hike is a necessary step to strengthen the financial state of key State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), especially the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Ghana signed onto the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while laying the foundation for stronger growth.
The IMF’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, worth $3 billion over 36 months, was approved on May 17, 2023.
It would be recalled that on Friday, April 11, 2025, reported that Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced a 14.75% increase in electricity tariffs and a 4.02% rise in water tariffs across all consumer categories effective, May 3.
Since this announcement section of Ghanaian have raised concerns about the impact of the increment on their businesses and living conditions.
However, addressing a joint press conference in Accra, capital of Ghana, with the Bank of Ghana and Ghana’s Finance Minister, Mr. Roudet emphasised the need for sustainable financing to maintain a reliable power supply across the country.
“The importance of this hike is to support SOEs and also ensure their finances are sustainable,” Roudet said.
“We are aware of the implications, especially for the vulnerable, but it is necessary to ensure ECG can meet its financial obligations to power producers and guarantee uninterrupted electricity for Ghanaian s”, he mentioned.
He also reiterated the IMF’s commitment to working with the Ghanaian government to develop social interventions aimed at cushioning the impact of these adjustments on the most vulnerable populations.
“We are very mindful of the needs of the vulnerable in society and want to ensure the government implements policies to protect the poor while improving the conditions of workers across all sectors,” he added.
The PURC earlier also defended the recent increases in utility tariffs, insisting that consumers are receiving value for money despite persistent complaints over erratic power supply and inconsistent water flow in parts of the country.
Source:https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Expert Calls For Rapid Increase In Electricity Supply To Drive Ghana’s Industrial Growth
Sustainable Energy Specialist Mr. Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo asserts that access to affordable and reliable electricity is crucial for the successful implementation of the government’s flagship policies, including the 24-hour economy and Accelerated Export Development Policy.
“No country can develop economically without access to modern, reliable, and affordable energy,” he argued during a presentation at the 5th Anniversary Public Lecture and Forum by Energy News Africa Limited in Accra.
Mr. Ahiataku-Togobo emphasized that the backbone of any industrialized country running a 24-hour economy is the availability of affordable electrical power.
He stressed the need for the government to rapidly double or triple reliable electricity supply to stimulate industrial growth, especially during peak demand.
He suggested incorporating natural gas and clean coal into Ghana’s energy mix, citing their potential to support the policy initiative.
As a Managing Partner at WAC Energy Professionals with over 30 years of experience in the energy sector, Mr. Ahiataku-Togobo recommended that Ghana systematically prioritize investment in grid and natural gas infrastructures and fast-track its Nuclear Power Programme.
He drew comparisons with industrialized countries like China which relies heavily on coal and natural gas for electricity generation.
South Korea’s significant increase in electricity generation from 21.17GW in 1990 to 143GW in 2023, largely driven by nuclear, gas, and coal imports, was another example he cited.
Mr. Ahiataku-Togobo also referenced Malaysia’s remarkable growth in electricity generation capacity from 0.46GW in 1970 to 45.5GW in 2022.
He highlighted that Ghana’s generation in 1970 was 0.76GW which was much higher than that of Malaysia but only saw a marginal growth to 5.5GW by 2022.
He contended that Ghana needs to rapidly revolutionize its power generation capacity to catch up with the rest of the world.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria: NERC Fines 8 DisCos N628 Million For Overbilling Unmetered Customers
The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has sanctioned eight distribution companies (DisCos) with a fine of N628,031,583.94(equivalent of $391,304.25) for non-compliance with regulatory orders.
The DisCos were sanctioned in line with Section 34(1)(d) of the Electricity Act 2023 (“EA 2023”).
The affected DisCos are Abuja, Eko, Enugu, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, and Yola.
According to a release by NERC, they failed to fully comply with the monthly energy caps issued by the Commission between July and September 2024 (2024/Q3).
The Commission recalled that in 2020, it issued the Order on Capping of Estimated Bills (Order No: NERC/197/2020) and subsequently issued monthly energy caps, which aimed to align the estimated bills for unmetered customers with the measured consumption of metered customers on the same supply feeder.
It added that a review of DisCos’ billing of unmetered customers for July-September 2024 (2024/Q3) revealed non-compliance with the monthly energy caps issued by the Commission.
Besides the sanction, the Commission has also mandated the DisCos to issue commensurate credit adjustments to all customers affected by the overbilling by May 15, 2025—the end of the April 2025 billing cycle.
“The Commission reaffirms its commitment to regulatory compliance and consumer protection within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry,” the release said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Zimbabwe: Gov’t Pursues Nuclear Energy And Mineral Value Addition For Sustainable Dev’t
Zimbabwe’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to exploring nuclear energy to boost electricity generation in the country as part of a balanced energy portfolio.
According to Chiwenga, the government is exploring a diverse range of energy solutions to diversify the country’s energy mix.
This includes gas-to-power projects, particularly those derived from the Muzarabani gas reserves, which will play a transitional role in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Vice President Chiwenga made these remarks during his keynote address at the official opening of the 6th International Renewable Energy Conference in Victoria Falls last Wednesday, April 9,2025.
The conference is held under the theme “Sustainable Energy Investments for a Better Future” and highlights Zimbabwe’s growing commitment to integrating renewable energy into its economic transformation and climate resilience strategy.
“We are also investigating nuclear energy, particularly small modular reactors, as part of a balanced energy portfolio,” Chiwenga said.
He added that Zimbabwe holds the largest lithium reserves in Africa and ranks fifth globally.
“We are prioritizing the value addition of energy transition minerals such as manganese, nickel, copper, cobalt, and lithium, which will drive the production of locally manufactured energy technologies.”
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Dr. Gloria Magombo, said the use of modular nuclear systems is a possibility.
“We are also looking at the use of renewable energy and modular nuclear systems, which are clean because nuclear is an enclosed system. So, it’s clean, and it doesn’t emit. However, we need to manage nuclear waste, and there are established systems for that. As a country, we are considering adopting this technology in the next 10 to 15 years.”
Source:https://energynewsafrica.com
Race To Keep British Steel Furnaces On As China Issues Trade Warning
China has accused the UK of “politicising trade cooperation” after the government passed an emergency law to take over the running of British Steel’s Scunthorpe site.
The foreign ministry in Beijing said the move to seize control of the plant from Jingye, a Chinese company, could discourage Chinese investment in the UK.
Efforts are under way to secure the vital raw materials needed to fuel the plant’s central blast furnaces. The UK government has said its owners intended to shut them down against its wishes.
As of Monday morning, officials were still trying to obtain the coking coal and iron ore needed to power the plant – materials which ministers have previously accused Jingye of selling off.
An emergency law rushed through Parliament on Saturday gave the government control of the Lincolnshire site to prevent Jingye from closing the furnaces.
Sourcing and transporting the raw materials to the Scunthorpe plant quickly is critical because blast furnaces can sustain permanent damage if their temperature drops too low, while restarting a furnace is also costly and complex.
Dozens of businesses including steel producers Tata and Rainham Steel have offered help and to supply their raw materials, the government has said.
Civil servants and British Steel officials are trying to secure one such shipment of materials which is being stored 30 miles east of Scunthorpe at Immingham Docks.
On Monday, the government appointed two long-standing British Steel employees to run the plant on an interim basis. Temporary chief executive Allan Ball said “securing the raw materials we need to continue blast furnace operations” was among their top priorities.
Treasury minister James Murray said the government was confident it was doing everything possible to secure the necessary raw materials but refused to be drawn further on the plant’s future while commercially sensitive talks aimed at obtaining those supplies were continuing.
“We know the coal is in the UK, we know the raw materials are in the country. We need to make sure we get it into the blast furnaces,” he told BBC Breakfast.
Pressed on Chinese involvement in key UK industries, Murray told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Jingye had “clearly behaved irresponsibly”.
The minister said there needed to be a “high level of scrutiny” for any foreign investment in critical infrastructure, but that the actions of one firm did not “speak to all companies who are based in China”.
Unions have expressed confidence that the government would be able to source the materials needed to keep the furnaces operational.
Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of the Community Union, which represents the majority of steelworkers, said the blast furnaces are “in a far better position” than before the government stepped in.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Rickhuss said he was certain the plant would remain running and that the furnaces were “secure”.
Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, from the GMB Union, told BBC Breakfast that she had spoken to British Steel on Sunday night and had been reassured the raw materials would be secured by the government.
The Scunthorpe plant employs 2,700 people and is the last site in the UK that can produce virgin steel, a high-grade product which is needed for large construction projects.
Without the plant, the UK would be the only member of the G7 group of leading economies without the ability to make virgin steel – which the government believes is a risk to the country’s economic security.
The site produces the majority of rail tracks used by Network Rail. The company said it does not expect “any impact on the continued delivery of reliable rail services” as it built up a stockpile of steel in anticipation of the plant’s possible closure.
The virgin steel made there is also critical for large-scale infrastructure developments, such as building nuclear power plants like the ongoing Hinkley Point C project in Somerset.
On Saturday, the government fast-tracked legislation which gave it control of the plant after talks with Jingye to save it appeared to break down.
The company said in March it was losing £700,000 a day at the site, which it called “no longer financially sustainable”, and began a consultation on its closure.
On Sunday, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds refused to confirm whether the government could obtain the materials in time.
“I’m not going to get into that,” he told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, but said the takeover gave the “opportunity” to obtain the materials needed.
Reynolds added it “became clear” during negotiations that Jingye was intent on closing down the blast furnaces no matter the financial support offered.
The government said Jingye refused an offer of £500m in financial support to help keep the furnaces running, and demanded more than twice as much money, with few guarantees it would keep the plant open.
“It might not be sabotage, it might be neglect,” Reynolds said of the company’s actions.
Following the government passing the emergency legislation, China’s foreign ministry urged the UK government to hold further talks with Jingye. According to AFP news agency, spokesman Lin Jian said: “It is hoped that the British government will… avoid politicising trade cooperation or linking it to security issues, so as not to impact the confidence of Chinese enterprises in going to the UK for normal investment.”
The Conservatives have criticised the government for not stepping in sooner to save the plant. Tory shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said the party had supported the emergency law because “it’s the least worst option on the table”.
Source: BBC
Zambia: Energy Ministry Sets 48-Hour Approval Period For Solar Projects
Zambia’s Ministry of Energy has reduced the approval period for solar project applications from over six months to just 48 hours, marking a decisive step towards fast-tracking private sector investment in renewable energy.
This reform is part of efforts to meet the Presidential Directive of adding 1000 megawatts(MW) of solar energy to the national grid by the end of 2025, a statement issued by Bob Sianjalika, Principal Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Energy said.
According to the Ministry, Hon Makozo Chikote reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting the growth of the solar energy sector by providing an efficient, transparent and investor-friendly environment.
“By cutting the approval period to 48 hours, the government has removed the lengthy administrative delays that previously hindered project development,” the statement said.
Mr Chikote said the streamlined process would help investors move forward faster and contribute to the accelerated expansion of solar power in Zambia,
This initiative forms part of the Ministry’s broader agenda to create an enabling environment for renewable energy investment.
By simplifying procedures, investors can begin generating power sooner, resulting in quicker economic returns and improved energy access.
Mr Chikote appealed to local authorities and traditional leaders to play an active role by availing land for solar energy projects.
He noted that access to land is a critical component in the successful rollout of solar infrastructure and that grassroots collaboration is vital to ensure timely implementation and shared benefits for communities.
The Ministry is also enhancing the investment climate through clear policy frameworks, simplified procedures and bankable power purchase agreements that make solar energy projects more attractive and commercially viable.
He said the Ministry remains open to consultations and stands ready to offer technical support for any proposals aimed at increasing electricity generation.
“All stakeholders with innovative energy solutions should engage the Ministry and be part of the collective efforts to strengthen the country’s energy security.
“Private sector involvement is essential to achieving the 1000MW solar target, and the Ministry urges both local and international investors to seize this opportunity to help build a greener and more energy-resilient Zambia,” the statement said.
Source:https://energynewsafrica.com
Tanzania: Tragedy Strikes TANESCO As MD And Driver Die In Gory Accident
The Managing Director of the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco), Gissima Nyamo-Hanga, and his driver, Muhajiri Haule, tragically died on Saturday night, April 12, 2025, in a road crash in Bunda District, Mara Region.
The unfortunate incident has shocked Tanzania and part of East Africa where he played key roles in the power sector.
Commenting on the incident, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy Dr. Doto Biteko described the passing of Gissima Nyamo-Hanga as a “mystery of faith,” and said the nation has lost a hardworking and visionary leader who was deeply committed to improving access to electricity for all Tanzanians.
“We have lost an outstanding leader. He wasn’t one to sit in the office—he was always on the ground, ensuring that the responsibility he was entrusted with, to provide reliable electricity, was fulfilled,” said Dr. Biteko. He noted that Nyamo-Hanga had been in Dodoma just a day earlier, attending board meetings focused on strengthening electricity supply systems in the country.
“Death is a mystery. Just yesterday, he was with us in meetings aimed at improving the power situation. We have truly lost a very kind and dedicated individual,” he added. Dr. Biteko further described the late Nyamo-Hanga as one of the few managing directors who not only oversaw staff performance with excellence but also succeeded in building a strong and united team at Tanesco.
Reacting to the sad news, Kenya Power described the death of Tanesco MD as a significant blow to the energy sector in the region and deeply felt by both TANESCO and the Kenya Power management team.
“Eng. Nyamo-Hanga was a focused and diligent leader whose vision and dedication greatly advanced regional energy collaboration,” Kenya Power said.
Notably, in recent months, he personally led TANESCO’s team during the crucial Energy Exchange Agreement negotiations with Kenya Power, paving the way for the successful commissioning and operationalization of the Kenya–Tanzania 400kV interconnector, which is now facilitating cross-border energy trading. Late Eng. Gissima Nyamo-Hanga will also be fondly remembered as a committed member of the East African Power Pool Steering Committee, where he played a key role in laying the groundwork for future energy trading among the thirteen member countries.
“We at Kenya Power honor his legacy and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, TANESCO’s leadership team, his colleagues, and the entire energy community,” the statement concluded.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Egypt Raises Fuel Prices For Q2 2025
Egypt’s Automatic Pricing Committee has announced an increase in fuel prices for the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, according to an official statement.
The new prices, effective Friday, April 11, 2025, are as follows:
Fuel Prices:
- 95 Octane Gasoline: 19 EGP per liter
- 92 Octane Gasoline: 17.25 EGP per liter
- 80 Octane Gasoline: 15.75 EGP per liter
- Diesel: 15.50 EGP per liter
- Kerosene: 15.50 EGP per liter
- Mazut (for other industries): 10,500 EGP per ton
- Butane gas:
- 200 EGP per 12.5 kg cylinder
- 400 EGP per 25 kg cylinder
- Bulk gas (excluding transportation freight): 16,000 EGP per ton
Kenya,Israel Inks 5-Year Energy Deal
Kenya and Israel have signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the Energy sector.
According to a report by Capital FM, the State of Israel will support Kenya’s efforts towards the production of sustainable renewable energy through capacity building for technical and offering professional support as well as sharing experiences of the latest cutting edge technology in the energy sector.
The report said the State of Israel would also help Kenya to minimise technical and commercial losses; a critical endeavour that would aid the government’s quest for accelerated access to clean, reliable, efficient and affordable energy.
Among the key highlights of the Memorandum are that Israel will share her experiences in the area of renewable power storage and grid stabilisation to improve output into the grid, build the country’s capacity by improving professional training schools and establishing collaboration with universities and colleges of human capital development.
Other areas of collaboration include solar and other renewable energy, power storage and grid management, biomass, energy efficiency, geothermal energy, electric power production and transmission, critical infrastructure protection and resilience, and any other area deemed appropriate by both parties, read part of the MOU.
Speaking during the function, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, Opiyo Wandayi, thanked the government of Israel for extending the technical support that would aid the country’s pathway to 100 per cent transition to green energy.
“With the signing of this understanding, we have established a framework through which we will collaborate to facilitate and encourage cooperation in the energy sector as well as share expertise in renewable energy resources development, innovation to improve reliability and quality of the distribution network and utilization for economic growth that is based on principles of impartiality, equality, reciprocity and common interest,” he said.
The CS said Kenya is set to benefit immensely from Israel’s vast fountain on knowledge on renewable energy and cutting-edge technology as the modernization of the country’s energy infrastructure continues.
Israel’s Ambassador, Michael Lotem, on his part, said that with the deal, Isreal wiuld help Kenya set up a Centre of Excellence for energy where human capital will be honned for the country’s sustainability of the green energy.
“It is the only surest way to through which as a country you will sustain the transition to green power,” said the envoy.
Present at the ceremony were the Principal Secretary, State Department of Energy, Alex Wachira, among other senior ministry officials.
Source:https://energynewsafrica.com
PDVSA Revokes Authorization For Chevron To Export Venezuelan Oil
Venezuelan state-owned oil firm PDVSA has revoked authorizations to U.S. supermajor Chevron to load and export crude from Venezuela this month, following the Trump Administration’s increased sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports and tariffs on its oil buyers, Reuters reports, quoting sources familiar with the matter.
The Trump Administration has already revoked Chevron’s license to operate in Venezuela and export oil from its oilfields, with May 27 the deadline for Chevron to wind down its operations in the South American country.
U.S. President Donald Trump has also announced that any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela will pay a 25% secondary tariff on trades with the United States.
The tariffs stalled trade between Venezuela and China, the biggest buyer of oil from Venezuela. However, loadings to China have resumed this week, according to Reuters’s sources.
The cancellations of the authorizations to Chevron by PDVSA are the first impact the U.S. supermajor sees from the U.S.-Venezuela standoff because the company has a license until May 27, allowing it to load crude in April.
Two of PDVSA’s cancellations were for tankers that have already loaded crude, so the oil will have to be returned to Venezuela’s ports, the sources told Reuters.
The Trump Administration has also revoked licenses for supermajors Shell and BP and their partners to operate natural gas projects offshore Venezuela that plan to send gas to Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean island’s Prime Minister Stuart Young has said.
Since taking office in January, President Trump has started to tighten the screws on Venezuelan oil industry and exports, revoking Chevron’s license and the licenses of the European firms to export crude from the South American country, which holds the world’s largest crude oil reserves.
The U.S. Treasury has revoked a license for French oil firm Maurel & Prom to operate in Venezuela and is no longer allowing firms including Eni and Repsol to receive oil from Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA in lieu of payments.
Source: Oilprice.com
Nigeria: New Era For Nigeria’s Power Sector As NISO Board Takes The Helm
Nigeria has formally inaugurated the board and management of the newly created Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO).
This marks the official unbundling of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) into two separate entities.
Under the new structure, the Transmission Service Provider (TSP) will oversee TCN’s physical infrastructure, including transmission towers, power lines, and substations.
Meanwhile, NISO will take charge of system operations, managing load allocation from generation companies to distribution companies and eligible customers.
Speaking at the induction ceremony organized by the Bureau of Public Enterprises, NISO’s Managing Director/CEO, Engr. Abdu Mohammed, stated that the company is committed to enhancing the reliability and stability of the national electricity grid.
He emphasized that the grid would be managed transparently and pragmatically, ensuring all operators adhere to the rules.
Mohammed explained that the national grid would be managed in a transparent and pragmatic manner, ensuring that all operators play by the rules.
“Our major role in the power industry is to bring the needed changes in the system that will enhance availability, reliability, and quality of supply of electricity to Nigerians. In addition to that, we’re supposed to create an atmosphere, an environment of transparency, discipline, and orderliness in electricity business in Nigeria, meaning that participants in generation, transmission, distribution, and eligible customers behave in a passionate manner in line with the provisions of the market rules and the grid code.
“The coming on board of the NISO Board of Management will usher these qualities that are required to make the power sector tick, just like other power sectors in bigger jurisdictions.
“Now it’s a journey. It’s not a one-off business. The beginning of the journey starts today. We begin today, and we’re going to hit the ground running. Tomorrow, we’re going to Oshogbo, the National Control Center, to make sure that our operators are aligned to our vision, mission, objectives, and goals as enshrined in the Electricity Act 2023”, he added.
With the grid proving very unreliable following a series of collapses and trippings, Engr. Mohammed said: “We understand the challenges in the industry, and we’re going to tackle them pragmatically and systematically. We’re going to deal with these problems, and gradually, with speed and quality, we shall ensure that Nigerians enjoy a steady, reliable electricity supply in the near future.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had two weeks ago appointed Dr. Adesegun Akin-Olugbade as NISO Board board chairman, with Engineer Abdu Mohammed as Managing Director.
The President also appointed four Executive Directors: Engineer Nafisatu Asabe Ali for Systems Operation, Engineer Shehu Abba-Aliyu for Systems Planning, Dr. Edmund Eje for Market Operations, and Mr. Babajide Ibironke for Finance and Corporate Services.
The Non-Executive Directors include Engineer Lamu Audu, representing Generation; Mrs Folake Soetan for Distribution; Mr Tajudeen Giwa-Osagie as Market Expert; Engineer Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz for Transmission, and Alhaji Mahmuda Mamman, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Power.
Source:https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: ECG PSP Faces Stiff Opposition From TUC, PUWU
The Government of Ghana’s plan to introduce private sector participation in the electricity retail sector of both Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) has sparked opposition from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The TUC had vowed to resist complete privatization of ECG, prompting the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, to clarify the stance of government.
According to him, government is seeking to involve Private Sector Participation (PSP) in the revenue collection section of ECG and NEDCo operations, in order to enhance revenue collection and improve efficiency in power distribution.
However, at a press conference on Thursday, April 10, 2025, which was addressed by Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU), the group resolved that they do not want either a complete privatization or private sector participation in ECG or NEDCo.
The union acknowledged the challenges in ECG operations, notably financial burden due to take or pay contracts, revenue collection bottlenecks, high cost of electricity procurement, excessive political interferences in ECG’s management, appointment of board members without recourse to competence, but said these do not warrant private sector participation.
The union emphasised that ECG remains a critical national asset, essential for driving Ghana’s economic development, ensuring national sovereignty and energy security, and fostering social equity.
“While the challenges facing ECG are significant, ranging from political interference to operational inefficiencies, privatization/PSP is not a viable or sustainable solution,” the union members said.
They argued that historical failures of privatization efforts in Ghana and across Africa demonstrate that surrendering public utilities to private investors often exacerbates existing inefficiencies, compromises national sovereignty, creates unemployment, implicates labour rights, and threatens energy security.
The union shared the view that addressing ECG’s challenges requires targeted reforms that would tackle the root causes of inefficiencies, such as depoliticizing management, enhancing accountability, and implementing effective controls in the energy value chain.
They further stressed the urgent need for renegotiation of Independent Power Purchase contracts from take-or-pay to take-and-pay, competent and merit-based appointments, ECG’s participation in the SHEP implementation, and the modernization of infrastructure can transform ECG into a financially viable and operationally efficient entity.
Instead of giving out ECG and NEDCo to private entities, they suggested that the Government of Ghana should give opportunities to ECG and also allow the company to borrow from the capital market to provide the necessary capital to strengthen the company’s operations while maintaining public ownership.
They called on government to prioritize the long-term interest of its citizens by ensuring that ECG remains under public control to guarantee affordable and equitable access to electricity, preserves national sovereignty, protects jobs, and supports broader socio-economic development.
Source:https://energynewsafrica.com
EU Countries Back Plan To Soften Gas Storage Rules Before Winter
European Union countries on Friday backed looser rules on filling gas storage ahead of winter, amid concerns that the bloc’s current binding regime inflates gas prices.
The EU’s gas storage rules were introduced in 2022 to ensure EU countries had a buffer of stored fuel during winter, after Russia cut gas deliveries, sending Europe’s gas prices soaring.
Ambassadors from EU countries approved the planned changes in a meeting on Friday, the council of the EU said in a statement.
The changes would let countries deviate by 10 percentage points from the EU’s requirement to fill gas storage to 90% of capacity ahead of winter, if market conditions are unfavourable.
The existing regime includes a binding commitment to fill storage to 90% capacity by November 1 this year. Countries agreed to keep this binding goal, but proposed amending its deadline to allow them to reach it at any time between October 1 and December 1.
Countries must now negotiate the final rules with the European Parliament. Negotiations are due to begin in May.
The changes will apply to EU filling targets for 2026 and 2027. They will also amend this year’s November target if countries and lawmakers approve them before that date.
Countries, including Germany, France and the Netherlands, have warned that the rules inflate gas prices by signalling to market participants when European buyers need to buy large volumes.
The negotiating stance backed by EU member countries would also let them deviate by an extra five percentage points from the 90% target in certain circumstances – for example, if technical constraints mean a storage facility takes more than 115 days to fill.
Countries also want to make voluntary the EU’s binding intermediate filling targets for the months leading up to November.
Industry group Eurogas urged policymakers to finalise the changes by July. The group said in a statement that uncertainty over the rules “creates additional challenges for market operators in making informed decisions regarding storage filling”.
Benchmark EU gas prices have tumbled since February, retreating to a near-nine-month low this week, in reaction to concerns of the economic fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war, as well as the push from EU countries to ease storage-filling targets.
Source: Reuters
Ghana: PURC Announces 14.75% And 4.02% Increases In Electricity And Water Tariffs
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced increases of 14.75% and 4.02% for electricity and water utilities tariffs, respectively, for the second quarter of 2025, effective May 3. The announcement follows the conclusion of the Commission’s Board meeting to discuss the quarterly tariff review on Friday, April 11, 2025.
Key factors that influence electricity tariff reviews include the exchange rate, inflation, Weighted Average Cost of Gas (WACOG), generation mix, and the cost of fuel and natural gas.
In a statement issued by Dr. Shafic Suleman, the Commission said a key variable factor that contributed significantly to the 2025 quarterly tariff adjustment was an inevitable attempt to pay half (50%) of an outstanding revenue of Gh¢976 million carried over from the previous three quarters of 2024.
The Commission emphasised that the remaining 50% will be spread over the subsequent quarters of the year.
“For the second quarter of 2025, a Weighted Average Exchange Rate of GHS 15.6974 to the USD was used for computation of the tariffs. This implied an under-recovery of GHS 0.1700 from the last quarter review in 2024.
“The Commission used an average three-month projected inflation rate of 22.49% for the second quarter of 2025.
“The applicable Weighted Average Cost of Gas (WACOG) for the second quarter of 2025 is USD 7.6289/MMBtu. This figure dropped from USD 7.8368/MMBtu, which was applied in the third quarter of 2024. The projected hydro-thermal generation mix for the quarter under review is 28.80% for Hydro and 71.20% for Thermal,” the Commission explained.
Source:https://energynewsafrica.com
In a statement issued by Dr. Shafic Suleman, the Commission said a key variable factor that contributed significantly to the 2025 quarterly tariff adjustment was an inevitable attempt to pay half (50%) of an outstanding revenue of Gh¢976 million carried over from the previous three quarters of 2024.
The Commission emphasised that the remaining 50% will be spread over the subsequent quarters of the year.
“For the second quarter of 2025, a Weighted Average Exchange Rate of GHS 15.6974 to the USD was used for computation of the tariffs. This implied an under-recovery of GHS 0.1700 from the last quarter review in 2024.
“The Commission used an average three-month projected inflation rate of 22.49% for the second quarter of 2025.
“The applicable Weighted Average Cost of Gas (WACOG) for the second quarter of 2025 is USD 7.6289/MMBtu. This figure dropped from USD 7.8368/MMBtu, which was applied in the third quarter of 2024. The projected hydro-thermal generation mix for the quarter under review is 28.80% for Hydro and 71.20% for Thermal,” the Commission explained.
Source:https://energynewsafrica.com