The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has in its validation reports on the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM), revealed that the Finance Ministry owes power generators about GHC 1.28 billion.
The current debt is reported to be having an effect as Ghana is currently dealing with erratic power supply.
Details
According to the Commission’s February validation report, the Finance Ministry “has not made up for the shortfalls since August 2023”.
The most recent failure occurred in February 2024, when the Ministry of Finance was “expected to release an amount of GHC 197,112,973.25 in accordance with the CWM guidelines and the approved CWM model.
Since October 2023, the top-up amount has remained above GHC 200 million before dropping slightly to GHC 197.11 million in February 2024.
Power Generator Debts
In its February 2024 validation report, eight State Owned Enterprises including GRIDCo, Bui, and VRA were scheduled to receive more than GHC 197 million from the Finance Ministry towards power generation and transmission under the CWM.
These payments by the ministry are aimed at addressing the shortfalls in the Level B category, ensuring that no arrears accumulate in the power sector.
Additionally, they facilitate the purchase of gas for electricity generation, thereby supporting the uninterrupted supply of electricity.
The PURC says it has issued relevant payment instructions since August 2023 on behalf of the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM) to the Ministry of Finance to pay, but the ministry has yet to comply.
Source: Joy News
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