‘There’s no dumsor in Ghana’ – Mahama says government clears IPP debt

President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government has cleared its outstanding debt to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), saying the country now has adequate electricity supply.

He made the announcement while addressing members of the Ghanaian diaspora in Russia during the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow.

“With regards to energy, there’s no, I can report there’s no dumsor in Ghana. Everybody has adequate power,” he said.

President Mahama said his administration inherited about US$1.7 billion in unpaid obligations to IPPs, with some producers threatening to cut off electricity supply over the debt.

He added that the government also owed for gas supplied from the Jubilee Field and by ENI, further compounding the sector’s financial difficulties.

“When we came, we owed all the IPPs, and they were threatening to shut off power. Because the IPP debt was about 1.7 billion dollars and then apart from that, we have consumed gas from Jubilee Field, from ENI and had not paid for it, we owed for gas supplied,” he stated.

The President said his government prioritised settling the debts to maintain the confidence of power producers and ensure continuity in electricity generation.

“I’m happy to announce that we have cleared the IPP debt. That is, we are current; any energy they supply today, we are paying them,” he said.

He explained that the government had put in place a payment arrangement involving an initial down payment and the settlement of subsequent bills as they fall due.

“And every payment that is due to them on the due date, we pay them and so the IPPs are satisfied,” he added.

Mahama said the arrangement had addressed concerns among the power producers, who had previously threatened to suspend supply over unpaid bills.