Ghana clears $1.47 billion in energy debts, finance ministry says

Mon, 12th Jan 2026 10:31

ACCRA, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Ghana's government ⁠paid $1.47 billion ‌in 2025 to clear legacy energy ⁠sector debts, restoring a depleted World Bank guarantee and settling arrears with power producers, the West ‍African nation's finance ministry said on Monday.

Ghana's power sector has been grappling with widespread unpaid debts ‍that have led to a sharp increase in outages. Last year, President John ⁠Dramani Mahama promised to reduce the $2.5 billion owed to independent power producers and gas suppliers.

"The era of uncontrolled energy sector debt accumulation is over," the ministry said in a statement, adding that disciplined financial management had enabled the payments while securing provisions for timely future obligations.

The ministry said the government had repaid over $597 million to the World Bank, fully restoring the partial risk guarantee for gas ‍supplies from the Offshore Cape Three Points field.

The guarantee, established in 2015, was ‌designed to protect nearly $8 billion in private investment in the energy sector. Its depletion had damaged the government's credibility ‌with international partners.

An additional $480 million was paid to Italian energy company ENI and commodities trader Vitol for outstanding gas invoices related to electricity generation through the Sankofa Gas ‌Project, the ministry said.

The government also settled approximately $393 million in legacy debts owed to independent power producers, including $120 million to Turkey's Karpowership and $59.4 million to Cenpower Generation, according to a breakdown provided by the ministry.

Independent power producers said in a separate statement that the clearance ⁠of long-outstanding obligations represents a major milestone in ‍restoring financial stability and operational confidence across the power sector.

The government has also renegotiated all agreements with independent power producers and is working with Tullow Oil and Jubilee Field ⁠partners on a payment roadmap, the ministry said.

Ghana is seeking to boost domestic gas production and reduce its reliance on expensive liquid fuels. (Reporting by Emmanuel Bruce; Additional reporting by Christian Akorlie; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian)