President John Mahama has disclosed that his administration has made headway in tackling the country’s power sector liabilities, announcing the restructuring and partial settlement of a $1.7 billion debt owed to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
Addressing participants on the second day of the Kwahu Business Forum on Saturday, April 4, 2026, the President said the sizeable, dollar-denominated obligation was one of the major hurdles confronting the energy sector when he assumed office.
“When we came into office, we had a debt overhang of about $1.7 billion owed to the independent power producers,” he said.
He indicated that the government entered into negotiations with the IPPs, resulting in concessions that reduced the overall debt burden. According to him, the producers agreed to absorb part of the losses as part of the broader national restructuring effort.
“Since Ghanaians were all taking haircuts from the debt restructuring, we told them they also must take haircuts… and they agreed… it amounted to about twenty percent of what was owed,” he said.
Following the agreement, the government established a repayment framework that includes initial lump-sum payments and a timetable for settling the remaining balance.
“If they signed on to it, we gave them an immediate down payment, and we gave them the dates for the subsequent payment,” he added.
Beyond addressing arrears, President Mahama underscored what he described as the most significant milestone, government’s ability to consistently honour its ongoing financial commitments to power producers.
“The best announcement is [that] we are keeping up with their present-day bills… any bill they submit every month, we pay them for the electricity they produce,” he emphasised.
He said the improved payment discipline signals a shift toward restoring trust within the sector, strengthening relationships with producers, and safeguarding reliable power generation.
The measures, he noted, are expected to reduce financial strain on IPPs while promoting greater stability across Ghana’s electricity supply chain.
Myjoyonline
