The acting Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), David Asamoah, has announced that independent power producer Sunon Asogli is expected to resume operations in the coming weeks.
He explained that ECG is making substantial progress in addressing the financial challenges that prompted the plant’s shutdown.
Speaking in an interview on Saturday, November 23, Mr. Asamoah disclosed that ECG had shifted from a monthly to a weekly payment schedule to expedite the settlement of debts owed to Sunon Asogli and other power producers.
“Sunon Asogli has gone off because of debts. But the good news about Sunon Asogli is that they are going to be back in the coming weeks because we have almost resolved the issue that made them go off,” he said.
“We started paying them on a weekly basis, not monthly.”
Sunon Asogli Power Ltd. ceased operations due to ECG’s inability to settle an outstanding debt of $259 million to IPPs.
The company explained that the shutdown was necessary because it could no longer sustain operations without payments.
The Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, had announced that Ghana’s power supply was expected to stabilise following a renegotiated agreement between the government and Sunon Asogli.
He said the new deal aimed to address the financial disagreements that caused the temporary shutdown.
On the back of this, Mr Asamoah reiterated ECG’s commitment to fulfilling its financial obligations, emphasising the steps taken to demonstrate good faith.
“I have had that conversation with them and to show good faith, we have started paying to show that we are just not talking but we are acting to what we have agreed going forward,” he said.
He further noted that ECG began its payment schedule on October 8, 2024.
“We paid that week, then the following week, but because the payments were insufficient, they [Asogli] decided not to resume operations,” he explained on News File on Joy News.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Dr Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor, has hinted that three power plants are set to shut down due to debts owed to them.
Dr Apetorgbor warned that if the issue remains unresolved, the three key power plants will cease operations by next week.
“If nothing is done by the end of this week, next week, three key power plants will shut down,” he warned.
But ECG says this will not happen based on the steps it has taken so far.