The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has released its latest validation report, revealing that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has fully adhered to the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM) for March 2024 payments. This marks a significant improvement, following intense scrutiny and criticism from both the media and the PURC, which had previously highlighted ECG’s failure to fully comply with the CWM since its revision in August 2023.
According to the report, ECG generated over GHS 1 billion in revenue for March 2024, which was allocated to settle invoices from January 2024. A substantial 62% of this revenue, amounting to GHS 620 million ($52 million), was disbursed to seven Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo).
As stated in the report, “The CWM application for March 2024 payments was based on invoices submitted for January 2023. The total ECG revenues reported for March 2024 was GHS 1,002,850,000.00.” The remaining GHS 334.8 million, after accounting for payments to IPPs and statutory obligations, was distributed among Level B beneficiaries, including state-owned enterprises such as the Volta River Authority (VRA), Bui Power Authority, and the Ghana National Gas Company.
Notably, ECG fully compensated all Level B beneficiaries in March 2024, a significant departure from its previous record of incomplete payments. However, the Ministry of Finance, responsible for covering any shortfalls, has not fulfilled this obligation since August 2023, with a shortfall of GHS 159.9 million for March 2024. The PURC is currently engaging with the Ministry to ensure these obligations are met. As emphasized in the report, “The Commission wishes to state that, MoF has not made up for the shortfalls since August 2023.”
