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Ghana Water Company risks power cut over GH¢1 billion debt – Energy minister warns

Minister of Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor Minister of Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor

The Minister for Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor, has threatened to disconnect power supply to the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) over an outstanding debt of approximately GH¢1 billion owed to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

Speaking in a recent interview on JoyNews, the Minister disclosed that although ECG’s monthly bills amount to about GH¢2.5 billion, the company is only able to collect GH¢1.5 billion, leaving a monthly deficit of roughly GH¢1 billion.

“They (Ghana Water Company) haven’t paid. If they do not pay, the lights will go off, and when the lights go off, you will be affected. They collect bills, so they should pay something. They owe about GH¢1 billion,” he remarked.

He attributed ECG’s losses to several factors, including technical and commercial system losses, non-cost-reflective tariffs, and poor debt recovery, particularly from government institutions.

“So even if ECG collects 100%, it still won’t amount to GH¢2.5 billion. This is because former President Akufo-Addo and his government decided that ECG shouldn’t charge for capacity. But that capacity still comes with a cost, a bill that must be paid,” he explained.

“ECG itself is struggling to collect payments. Losses have increased from 22% to 40%, what we refer to as ATCC. That’s a major issue. Three major government agencies, along with many MMDAs, are not paying their bills. In fact, the private sector is performing better than the MMDAs,” he added.

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