'Energy debt clearance claim is not true' - Kwadwo Poku

Kwadwo Poku, an energy analyst, disputed the government's claim of clearing all outstanding debts in Ghana's energy sector, speaking at an NPP policy committee press conference on August 5. He stated that "The figures that have been published by PURC do not sustain the fact that they are clearing all the indebtedness in the energy sector." Mr. Poku explained that while progress has been made with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), other debts remain unresolved.

Mr. Poku noted that the government has negotiated with IPPs to spread the payment of existing debts, which total about $1.1 billion, over four years. He acknowledged improvements in the energy sector's cash waterfall arrangement, specifically the prioritization of IPP payments, stating, "The first thing they do is that when money comes into the waterfall, they take care of all the IPP indebtedness." However, he argued that funds remaining in Level B of the payment structure are insufficient to clear debts owed to other key energy institutions, such as the Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), and Ghana National Gas.