Gas production key to solving Ghana’s power crisis, opposition leader Mahama says: Video
Former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, who is contesting the December 7 presidential elections, has outlined his vision for addressing Ghana’s power sector challenges.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Global South World, Mahama noted the current administration's struggles with energy sector debt, which he noted has inflated to nearly $2 billion, jeopardising the nation’s $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program.
He stressed that resolving energy inefficiencies is vital to sustaining economic reforms.
Mahama further highlighted the inefficiencies in the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), citing its 32% technical and commercial losses. "I don't know any electricity company that can survive with 32% losses. I mean, and two years ago, they made a loss of 10 billion. Last year, I think they made a debt loss of about 6 billion. It cannot continue, and it has to stop."
Mahama proposed ramping up domestic gas production to meet 100% of Ghana’s electricity generation needs. Currently, gas from the Jubilee Field and ENI operations supplies just over 60% of the country’s requirements. Increasing this to full capacity, he said, could save the nation $400 million annually.
He criticised the government’s mismanagement of the energy value chain, which has led to payment defaults and reduced gas volumes from ENI. "If this continues, Ghana risks another default to the World Bank," he warned.
“This government has missed the whole chain, the whole value chain in the energy sector. And so, again, from the gas that is being taken, they are paying for it. And so because of that, ENI has reduced the volumes that it's pumping. We set up the ENI project with a well-done guarantee. We believe that the guarantee has been drawn down for non-payment until it's left to just $50 million. If ENI draws down on the $50 million, it means we would incur another default to the World Bank. And so it's a very precarious situation that needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible,” he added.
Mahama emphasised the need for swift and expert-driven solutions to prevent the energy sector from collapsing. "The energy sector debt can crush this economy if not addressed urgently," he said.
