- In Ghana, the director of communications at Power Distribution Service (PDS), William Boateng, has provided some clarity on the matter involving the company’s engagement with Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
- According to the Ghanaian Times, Boateng said PDS which took over the role of power distribution in March this year, stated that it does not owe nor have any contracts with the IPPs.
“The IPPs got it wrong. PDS does not have a contract with them or owes them. And as a result, we have no obligation to respond to their correspondents or make payments to them,” he said.
Boateng said the power distributor has a contract with Electricity Company Ghana (ECG) which it has not defaulted on.
“We have honoured all our concessional obligations to ECG. ECG gives us bulk bills and we pay every week. I will advise the IPPs to seek audience with ECG, which might have an agreement with them,” he stated.
Boateng was responding to the decision by the Chamber of Independent Power Producers and Bulk consumers (CIPDIB) to cut supply of power to PDS if the $700 million debt owed its members was not paid in eight days.
The Chamber, which is comprised of Sunon-Asogli Power (Ghana) Limited, BXC Solar Ghana, Cenit Energy Limited, Cenpower Generation Company Limited and Karpowership Ghana Company Limited, supplies 1,500MW of power to PDS.
Chief executive of CIPDIB, Eliplim Kwabla Apetorgbor, revealed that the decision to cut power supply to PDS has been necessitated by debts incurred by members in fueling and maintaining their plants as well as paying workers.
Before PDS, Apetorgbo said the ECG paid the six IPPs weekly from earning made from consumers which he explained, was stopped when PDS took over this year.
“We have made several attempts to retrieve these debts but our efforts have been met with stonewalling from PDS. They have also failed to respond to their demand letters or invitations to a meeting to discuss outstanding payments,” he stated
Author: Babalwa Bungane
This article was originally published on ESI Africa and is republished with permission with minor editorial changes.
