Former President John Dramani Mahama has appealed to Independent Power Producers to reconsider their decision to shut down their power plants on July 1, 2023.
This comes as the ultimatum issued to the IPPs inches closer.
This follows a letter from the IPPs threatening to suspend power supply if an interim payment of 30% of the outstanding debts amounting to $1.7 billion is not made.
The IPPs have expressed their inability to continue supplying power to the national grid beyond June 30 unless they receive payment for their outstanding debts.
To avert an impending energy crisis, the former President through John Jinapor, the Ranking Member for Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee also urged the government to demonstrate commitment to resolving the outstanding debt issue that has led to this critical situation.
Addressing the media in parliament on Friday, June 30, 2023, the Yapei-KusawguMP, recognizing the gravity of the situation, called on the IPPs to give the government and the nation more time to address their concerns.
“Please reconsider your decision towards shutting your plants on July 1. Please give the government and the nation some more time,” Jinapor appealed.
Expressing his dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the matter, he criticised the Finance Minister’s approach, stating that selective and discriminatory payments were being made to preferred IPPs while neglecting others.
“The Finance Minister instead of dealing with the Chamber of IPPs is engaged in selective and discriminatory payment, selecting some preferred IPPs, paying them and leaving them to their own fate,” Jinapor noted.
“The debt as we speak now is about $1.7 billion, which keeps compounding. ECG’s losses today are over 30 per cent, forex losses alone account for more than $300 million, fuel supplied that has not been paid runs into hundreds of millions of dollars,” Jinapor revealed during a press briefing in Accra.
