Energy Minister designate orders halt on ECG payments to all suppliers

• Posted on January 10, 2025January 10, 2025
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Incoming Energy Minister, John Jinapor has taken a decisive step to address the ongoing challenges facing the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

In an interview on Citi FM on Thursday, January 9, Jinapor revealed that he has instructed ECG to immediately suspend all payments for supplies.

According to him, this is aimed at curbing significant revenue losses within the company.

He further highlighted the difficulty in managing over 70 accounts, leading to a lack of control and significant financial leakages.

“Because if ECG loses over 40% of its power generated, no matter what you do, you cannot find a solution,” Jinapor emphasized. “Other countries are doing just about 2-4% losses.”

The Minister-Designate warned ECG staff, particularly those in the finance directorate, that there would be “serious consequences” for any disregard of this directive. He stressed the need to streamline operations and improve efficiency within ECG to ensure the stability of the power sector.

Jinapor reiterated the need for private sector involvement to address the challenges facing ECG.

He stated, “We don’t even want to wait until I am sworn in. We want to, as a technical team, work with some consultants with the World Bank and IMF to transparently determine the framework for how we are going to engage in the private sector.”

He emphasized that engaging the private sector is crucial for improving billing and collection systems and ultimately enhancing ECG’s overall efficiency.