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Reuters
13-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Ghana aims to reduce $2.5 billion debt owed to power producers by year-end
ABIDJAN, May 13 (Reuters) - Ghana should be able to reduce its debt of $2.5 billion owed to independent power producers and gas suppliers by the end of the year, President John Dramani Mahama said on Tuesday. Last year, the West African country reached an agreement with independent power producers to restructure legacy debt of around $1 billion as part of efforts to deal with its overall debt burden. But arrears to service providers have continued to pose a challenge to Ghana's economy since Mahama was sworn in for a second term as president in January. "I'm sure by next year, our partners would be happy because we would have dealt appropriately with the debt overhang," Mahama told a forum in Ivory Coast. He said that state-owned utility ECG was inefficient in collecting revenue and was experiencing losses of about 40%. To be able to pay for electricity, Mahama said he was bringing the private sector into the billing process. "People are queuing up, I said they should wait. We're going to do expressions of interest," Mahama said when asked about interest from private investors. The cabinet will decide whether Ghana should have one or multiple partners working on the billing, he said, adding that there must be local participation. Mahama also said companies should take advantage of oil and gas extraction before the world transitions to renewable energy. "Oil is in transition and so everybody who has any assets should be pumping like there's no tomorrow ... I would lay a red carpet to anybody who wants to drill and pump oil to do so," he said.
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
India eases coal supply rules to ramp up power generation capacity
May 7 (Reuters) - India on Wednesday changed rules to allow long-term coal supply contracts for so-called independent power producers as it looks to ramp up its coal-powered plant capacity. The government also did away with the requirement that coal power producers should have power purchase agreements to sell electricity. The moves will encourage power producers to plan new thermal capacities and help future capacity addition, the coal ministry said in a statement. India wants more power plants to come up at the pitheads of coal mines as it would reduce the challenges in transporting coal to distant and remote places where power plants are often located. Under the new policy, which was approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, independent power producers with or without power purchase agreements can get coal on an auction basis for a period of up to 12 months or above and up to 25 years by paying a premium above the notified price. India aims to raise its coal-fired capacity by 80 gigawatts by 2031–32, from the current 222 GW, to meet growing demand for power. The country had added nearly 28 GW of coal capacity in the past five years, according to Central Electricity Authority data. The coal power additions come even as the country is aiming to add at least 500 GW of clean energy by 2030, against 172 GW currently. India's renewable energy sector is grappling with several obstacles, including weak demand for tenders, land acquisition challenges, delays in power purchase agreements, and project cancellations.
