Pay down WAPCo debt to avert “Dumsor,” a minority advises the government.

This request is in reaction to the October 26 power disruptions that occurred across the nation and were attributable to problems with the gas supply. According to the Ghana Grid Company Ltd. (GRIDCo), Tema’s restricted gas supply caused a 550MW shortfall in power supply.

The minority stressed in a statement released on Friday that in order to stop more power outages, the government must pay the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) a minimum of $8.31 million as soon as possible.

The minority suggests that, in the medium to long run, the government pay off ECG’s entire debt to WAPCo and bring back the Cash Waterfall Mechanism to guard against future power outages caused by independent power providers (IPPs) that are also in the process of being paid.

The minority representative, a member of Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee, said that the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) was the guarantor of the Gas Transportation Agreement between ECG and WAPCo, which included a guarantee against ECG’s inability to pay for gas transportation.