The Finance Ministry owes some power generators about GH₵1.28 billion, yhe Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s validation reports on the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM) have revealed.
The validation reports from August 2023 to February 2024 revealed that the Ministry failed to comply with its ‘top-up’ role under the revised CWM.
The total arrears the report said is up to GH₵1.28 billion.
The February report further revealed that the Finance Ministry “has not made up for the shortfalls since August 2023”.
It added that the ministry was “expected to release an amount of GH₵197,112,973.25 in accordance with the CWM guidelines and the approved CWM model” in February 2024 but has failed to so.
In October 2023, the top-up amount was above GH₵200 million before dropping slightly to GH₵197.11 million in February 2024.
According to the February 2024 validation report, eight State Owned Enterprises including GRIDCo, Bui, and VRA were scheduled to receive more than GH₵197 million from the Finance Ministry towards power generation and transmission under the CWM.
These payments by the ministry are aimed at addressing the shortfalls in the Level B category, ensuring that no arrears accumulate in the power sector. Additionally, they facilitate the purchase of gas for electricity generation, thereby supporting the uninterrupted supply of electricity.
The Commission stated in the report that it has issued relevant payment instructions since August 2023 on behalf of the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM) to the Ministry of Finance to pay, but the ministry is yet to make comply.
The revised Cash Waterfall Mechanism, “Level A payments shall be made to IPPs directly by ECG and Level B payments to SOEs and fuel suppliers”, it said.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
