US$13.2bn savings from renegotiated contracts

The government says it could save the country about US$13.2 billion from the successful renegotiating some of the power purchase agreements (PPAs). The savings would accrue over the lifespan of the renegotiated agreements, the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, has told Parliament.

Mr Ofori-Atta said during the presentation of the mid year budget review Monday that the affected projects were Karpower, Cenpower, Early Power, Twin City Energy (formerly Amandi), AKSA Energy and Cenit.

He said the renegotiations and the savings were some of the strategies adopted by the government to reduce cost and improve upon the energy situation of the country.

He added that the timely intervention of the Bank of Ghana, through the Special Forex Auction mechanism was also expected to sustain continuous supply of petroleum products in Ghana.

“Mr Speaker, the raft of sanctions imposed on Russia are tightening supply conditions for energy products.

“In response, the government is closely monitoring the stock of products at all depots. The timely intervention of the Bank of Ghana, through the Special Forex Auction mechanism, is also expected to sustain continuous supply of petroleum products in Ghana,” he said.

“Mr. Speaker, we have seen in this country the damage that disruptions in power supply causes to businesses, large and small, from factories to hairdresser salons. As part of measures to improve transmission and reliability of power supply and expand energy to all Ghanaians, we have, between January to date: completed the Kasoa Bulk Supply Point (BSP) Project, which comprises the re-construction of a section of GRIDCO’s 161kV Winneba-Mallam transmission lines and tie-in-works, advanced the VoltaAchimota Lot of the 161KV Volta-Achimota-Mallam Transmission Line Upgrade

Project to 85 percent, from 83 percent and connected 58 communities to the national grid as at end June 2022 with several communities at various stages of completion, he said.

He added that the government had also commissioned the Solar Irrigation Project at the Ho Technical University on 18th March, 2022 to promote renewable energy systems.

On the renegotiations, the Minister said for balanced, sustainable energy partnerships that provide affordable power for industrial, commercial and residential use, the government kept its promise and successfully renegotiated PPAs with six IPPs.

“These renegotiated agreements are expected to have savings estimated at US$13.2 billion over the life of the PPAs through a combination of reduced capacity and energy charges. In other words, we are saving the Ghanaian taxpayer US$13.2 billion from power contracts signed by the previous administration,” Mr Ofori-Atta said.