President John Mahama has assured Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the country of his commitment to addressing the various challenges plaguing the power sector.

Speaking during a meeting with power producers held at the Accra International Conference Centre on Monday, January 13, the President mentioned that he is deeply concerned about the issues they are facing and will collaborate with them to find solutions.

“It is important for me to meet with you as the President. I care about your concerns and what you are going through, and I want to assure you that we will work together to resolve the issues within our power sector,” he said.

The President added that the primary focus should be addressing challenges in the value chain, stating, “The first priority for us is to tackle the issue of the value chain— the entire power value chain. This means we must start from the downstream all the way to the upstream.”

Regarding the debts owed by the state to these private power producers, Mr Mahama explained that his previous government introduced energy sector levies to generate sufficient funds to clear the debts by the end of five years.

He noted that after he left office, the Akufo-Addo administration abandoned the levy and implemented its own policies. However, these did not succeed in clearing the debts.

The 2022 Annual Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA) was designed to generate revenue from energy usage to ensure the country could pay the various power producers and use the funds for national development.

According to the new President, the previous government mismanaged the funds generated through ESLA.

“Unfortunately, ESLA was not used for its intended purpose, and the revenues were mismanaged. What should have gone towards paying off the debt was used for other purposes, which has led to the current situation,” the President lamented.

He emphasised that, while he is making the public aware of the challenges facing the energy sector, he has taken full responsibility as the President of the country and is committed to finding a solution to these problems.

The country’s energy sector is facing several challenges, with one of the key issues being the inability of power producers to generate sufficient electricity due to the government’s failure to pay them for the power they have produced and supplied to the public.

Recently, the new government discovered that the immediate past administration had failed to procure sufficient heavy fuel for the power producers, which has hindered their ability to generate enough power. As a result, the country may face significant power outages.

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