Ghana to invest about $1 billion to replace expensive power loans. Government and some power contractors agreed on this plan during the renegotiation of power deals that began in November 2019.
This is, according to a finance ministry spokesman, in a response to questions from Bloomberg.
The investment will be done through the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund using proceeds from last year’s Eurobond sale.
Two of the 12 independent power producers have agreed to switch to gas, from heavy fuel oil, while another agreed to change its plant to a tolling structure.
Together, those changes will save the government about five billion dollars in tariffs over the remaining life of the power contracts. None of the companies has yet agreed to stop charging the government for energy it does not consume.
Those obligations, under so-called take-or-pay clauses, have cost the government nearly 500 million dollars a year since 2017.
According to the spokesperson, refinancing expensive debt on the books of the independent power producers will reduce the cost of power even further.
