Mahama underscores government’s commitment to resolving ECG’s indebtedness

President John Dramani Mahama emphasized the government's commitment to resolving the Electricity Company of Ghana's (ECG) debts.

He spoke at the 2025 African CEOs Forum Awards in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. President Mahama noted that he inherited an energy sector burdened with nearly $2.5 billion in debts. These debts were owed to independent power producers and gas suppliers.

The energy sector is a top priority for the government. “We are trying to renegotiate the debt,” he said. The goal is to ring-fence it and implement strategies for resolution. He believes they can satisfy all parties by early next year.

“We need to clean the slates,” he added. However, this requires examining the entire value chain. Many issues stem from distribution inefficiencies at ECG, which struggles with revenue collection.

President Mahama mentioned that Ghana faces technical and commercial losses of about 40 percent. To improve efficiency, the government plans private sector involvement in billing and metering.

He explained their cash waterfall mechanism for sharing ECG’s revenues proportionately among stakeholders. Unfortunately, this system was not followed previously, leading to significant debt accumulation.

Now, they are adhering strictly to this mechanism so everyone receives payments monthly while fixing distribution issues.

Regarding privatization of ECG's downstream operations like billing and metering, President Mahama acknowledged interest from private investors but advised them to wait.

The government will conduct expressions of interest based on a recent report from an advisory committee. This committee presented three options: one concession holder for the entire country or multiple partners divided by regions.

The government has yet to make a decision on these options. The committee's report will go to Cabinet for final approval before proceeding with expressions of interest.

President Mahama stressed the importance of Ghanaian participation in any privatization efforts. “There must be local participation,” he stated, even if international companies are involved.

He expressed confidence that by next year, partners would be satisfied as they address outstanding debts effectively.