The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has distanced itself from power outages which occurred in some parts of the country.
According to GNPC, its attention has been drawn to false comments put out by some “misinformed individuals depicting themselves as energy analysts” regarding last Thursdays power supply challenges.
It revealed that these “experts” alleged that GNPC, its Board and CEO are to blame for failing to pay debts owed West Africa Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo).
However, the Corporation revealed that the discussions out there in the public domain which seemingly implicates GNPC, and its managements are untrue.
“It should be noted that GNPC is not responsible for the power supply challenges that occurred in the country on Thursday but has rather stepped up on many occasions to prevent gas supply interruptions by paying for gas transportation at the expense of its core operations.”
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation
Describing the information as “not accurate”, GNPC clarified that it is counterparty to the Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA) with WAPCo for the transportation of gas to power plants, as per the OCTP Gas Sales Agreements (GSA) requirements therefore, WAPCo directly invoices GNPC.
It further explained that the gas is transported to the Independent Power Producers (IPPS) to generate power that ECG distributes to consumers as electricity.
“Ultimately, monies received by ECG after the sale of electricity is utilized to pay, either directly or indirectly, all the electricity service providers downstream of the value chain, including WAPCo.”
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation
Furthermore, the GNPC indicated that traditionally, ECG pays for gas transportation invoices through the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM).
Nonetheless, it highlighted that the distribution company’s funds received by GNPC from ECG have not been sufficient to pay for the WAPCo invoices, especially in recent times.
“Between July and October this year, GNPC has explored every avenue possible to get ECG to honor the overdue payments to no avail. This is documented in numerous letters to ECG and the Minister for Energy, requesting for payments, and highlighting the potential consequences of curtailment of gas transportation services.”
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation
Overdue payment of arrears to WAPCo
Furthermore, GNPC expressed that following no response, from ECG and minister for energy on payment of arrears, a timely letter dated 16th October 2023 was sent to the Minister of Energy seeking his urgent intervention on the matter to avoid power supply challenges.
Thereupon, the Corporation stated that the issue remained unresolved, which led to WAPCo curtailing gas transportation services leading to the power supply challenges.
“The GNPC CEO and senior management have proactively engaged WAPCO several times this year to successfully negotiate feasible payment arrangements that have prevented the curtailment of gas transportation services.”
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation
Moreover, GNPC emphasized its commitement and part in ensuring funds are aptly disbursed to WAPCo to avert power outage. Owing to this, it expressed disappointment over its implication in the matter.
“It is, therefore, incorrect and misleading for anyone to conclude that GNPC was responsible for the non-payment of monies to WAPCo leading to the curtailment of gas supply, resulting in the unfortunate power supply challenges.”
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation
It will be recalled that the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), on October 26, 2023, explained that there was limited gas supply to Tema leading to a shortage of 550MW at peak time, which caused power cuts in parts of the country.
The shortage occasioned the power outage in some parts of the country on Thursday night. That notwithstanding, GRIDCo and ECG on Sunday, October 29, announced the successful restoration of power following the recent intermittent power cuts across the country.
They noted that any customer still experiencing power outages is likely facing a local fault and thus should report to the ECG office for it to be fixed.
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