Cash Waterfall Mechanism has been designed to benefit IPPs – VRA Senior Staff
The Senior Staff Association (SSA) of the Volta River Authority (VRA) has bemoaned the impact of the revised Cash Waterfall Mechanism on the operations of the company.
The Cash Waterfall Mechanism was implemented in April 2020 and revised in 2023 as part of the Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP) to ensure fairness and transparency in distributing energy revenues among electricity distribution companies.
Nonetheless, the Senior Staff of VRA says that is not the reality on the ground since the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are given a fixed amount of $43 million every month.
According to a statement issued by the association, even though the VRA produces 67.5 percent of power to the national grid, and the IPPs produce only 32.5 percent the disbursement of revenue has been designed to benefit the IPPs.
“Currently, all available plants are running 24/7. That cannot be said about IPPs, yet at the end of the month, they are given $43 million which is more than half of all the payments made into the CWM by the ECG,” portions of the statement said.
“Will IPPs accept this kind of treatment meted to VRA?”the Association quizzed.
The Association further dismissed calls for the privatisation of VRA.
“We wish to reiterate that VRA is the only strategic state-owned power utility providing and guaranteeing the energy security for the people of Ghana and for that matter none of its assets must be put on sale.
“The Authority is efficient in operating and managing its assets and thus should be allowed to operate its diverse generation mix, devoid of any unwarranted privatisation.”
Read full statement below: