All bank accounts of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) which were scattered in different banks have now been consolidated  at the GCB Bank PLC as part of efforts to enforce stricter financial control and address the growing debt in the power sector, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, has said.

Speaking in a radio interview with Citi FM on Monday, May 19, 2025, Mr Jinapor said the restructuring became necessary due to ECG’s persistent failure to comply with the cash waterfall mechanism, a system introduced to allocate revenue to various power sector players in a fair and timely manner.

He explained that the new arrangement is designed to prevent ECG from making unapproved withdrawals and to ensure that all disbursements are guided by monthly reviews.

“I’ve closed all of ECG’s accounts except for one single holding account, which we’ve transferred to a commercial bank, GCB. I insisted that it should be transferred to a state bank,” Mr Jinapor said during the interview.

He said concerns raised by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) about ECG’s disregard for the cash waterfall process were valid and could no longer be ignored.

“You heard the IPPs complain. You heard PURC complain that ECG was not adhering to the cash waterfall mechanism,” he added.

Previously, ECG resorted to taking overdrafts to make weekly payments to IPPs, a practice the Minister said contributed to the company’s mounting debts due to interest charges. Under the new system, ECG will be barred from making any payments until the 27th of each month, when the cash waterfall committee meets to allocate funds.

“What ECG used to do was to take overdrafts and pay the IPPs every week. So by the end of the month, these overdrafts accrue a lot of interest,” Mr Jinapor explained.

“We’ve told the IPPs, let’s all be patient. On the 27th, the cash waterfall committee will meet every month and do the disbursement.”

Mr Jinapor acknowledged that the move had not been well received by some stakeholders but maintained that it was necessary for the long-term health of the power sector.

He revealed that ECG’s current debt to IPPs stands at GH₵1.79 billion, while total generation-related debt has reached GH₵3 billion.

Despite these challenges, the Minister said ongoing talks with power producers, including Karpowership, had helped avert any shutdowns.

For electricity consumers, the Minister said the new arrangement should ultimately benefit the public by stabilising the flow of funds to those generating and supplying power, thereby supporting more reliable service.

He also disclosed that the government is considering involving private entities in ECG’s billing and collection systems to improve revenue recovery without privatising the company itself.

“We think that the private sector should get involved with billing and collection. Don’t collapse ECG. Don’t sell ECG,” Mr Jinapor said, noting that companies would operate on a commission basis in designated zones.

According to Mr Jinapor, the new financial structure is expected to bring short-term relief to ECG, even as longer-term plans, including the development of a new gas processing plant, are being pursued to help reduce generation costs.