Ghana’s independent power producers (IPPs), who have a 50% market share of the country’s electricity generation, have suspended a shutdown initially scheduled for July 1 to July 8.
The aggrieved producers are owed approximately $2 billion by the Ghanaian government, and had threatened to cut power supply to the national grid if the state fails to offset at least 30% of the debt.
The IPPs, nine in number, suspended the planned strike after meeting the leadership of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on Friday.
The state-owned power firm agreed to pay the IPPs an undisclosed amount of money to enable them operate in the interim, allowing the government time to raise resources. The truce period, however, remains unclear.
Major crisis
The shutdown would have plunged many parts of Ghana into darkness, as the IPPs produce 67% of thermal power in the country and control half of the electricity generated.
Ghanaian former president John Dramani Mahama had urged the IPPs, who produce 2,000 megawatts of power, to suspend the planned shutdown to enable negotiations with the government.
Mahama asked the state to honour the debt obligations to avert far-reaching consequences that can befall the country if power supply is cut for a whole week, or even longer.
