Ghana is facing the risk of a nationwide power outage as it scrambles to secure $1.1 billion to purchase liquid fuel needed to keep its electricity generation plants running.
Energy and Green Transition Minister, John Jinapor, told the Parliamentary Committee on Energy that the country owes more than $1.7 billion to Independent Power Producers (IPPs). He stressed that without urgent funding, Ghana’s power supply could be severely disrupted.
Jinapor identified several structural issues contributing to the crisis, including the absence of a reserve margin in the tariff framework and chronic revenue shortfalls at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The situation has been further compounded by warnings from Karpower, a key energy supplier, which has threatened to shut down operations unless the government settles an outstanding debt of over $400 million.
George Kwame Aboagye, the Ranking Member of the Energy Committee, also raised concerns about widespread non-payment of electricity bills by large corporations. He pointed out that transmission losses in Ghana hover between 29 to 30 percent – far above the 8 to 9 percent average in OECD countries.
As the crisis deepens, calls for urgent financial intervention and sector reforms are mounting to prevent a full-scale blackout.
