Dumsor Looms, As Gov’t, Private Power Producers Engage in Blows over Debt.

The Chamber of Independent Power Producers, Distributors, and Bulk Consumers (CIPDiB) has rubbished claims by the Akufo Addo administration that it is partisan for its members to demand US$1.2billion debt owed it this time.

Responding to the allegation, it said in a statement that its quest to be paid has got nothing to do with politics and that it is only seeking to ensure that its members do not go bankrupt.

When the IPPs demanded for the arrears owed them by the Akufo Addo administration, the Deputy Minister of Energy, William Owuraku Aidoo accused them of exhibiting traits of a pressure group and creating unnecessary tension with threats to interrupt power supply. 

While the government is engaged in a war of words with its creditors, the IPPs have warned that delays in reimbursing them will result in power cuts amounting to more than half of Ghana’s generating capacity.

This will cause massive electricity interruptions popularly called “Dumsor” in Ghana.

“We wish to assure the government and the public that we have no political motives for the timing of the communication that IPPs may be forced to shut down. This is based purely on commercial exigencies we currently face and not any political agenda,” the CIPDiB wrote in a statement released today.

“On average, IPPs, since 2017, are paid just barely 40% of power invoices on a monthly basis which is not enough to sustain operations, especially when these low payments have persisted for so long. Members have had to resort to loans in order to keep their operations going but at the cost of crippling debt service obligations which have become unsustainable hence the demand for the prompt payment of overdue invoices to the tune of $1.44billion as at 30th September 2020.”

The unpaid invoices owed IPPs are reportedly crippling their businesses and they are desperate to get the government to settle its outstanding financial obligations to them or risk a mass shut down. 

“It would interest the public to know that the Energy Sector debt to IPPs which was $124 million at the end of 2016 has ballooned tenfold to $1,180 million as of 31st July 2020. Clearly, this is unsustainable and poses serious economic and financial risks to our members which is why we are being compelled to serve notice to Ghanaians about the possibility of a forced shutdown due to lack of funds to maintain our operations,” read the statement signed by CIPDiB’s Chief Executive Officer, Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor.

 While the IPPs clamour for their funds, the Deputy Energy Minister fired at them saying “The Chamber is being used as a pressure institution to pressure the government into doing things that it is already doing; having one on one discussions with individual power producers and so on. With three weeks to elections, it is very unfortunate to hear this Chamber of Independent Power Producers coming out to say they will pull the plug on us, creating unnecessary panic within the system.”

The minister claims his recent interaction with them shows there is “no cause for alarm”.