President John Dramani Mahama has told business leaders that Ghana is settling the monthly electricity bills of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) without fail, describing current payment discipline as the most important milestone in the government’s effort to stabilise the energy sector.
Speaking on the second day of the Kwahu Business Forum on Saturday, April 4, 2026, the President said the dollar-denominated debt overhang was one of the major challenges confronting the energy sector when his administration assumed office. “When we came into office, we had a debt overhang of about $1.7 billion owed to the independent power producers,” he said.
He indicated that the government entered into negotiations with the IPPs, resulting in concessions that reduced the overall debt burden. According to him, the producers agreed to absorb part of the losses as part of the broader national restructuring effort. “Since Ghanaians were all taking haircuts from the debt restructuring, we told them they also must take haircuts,” he said.
A structured repayment plan was subsequently agreed upon, including upfront payments and scheduled disbursements. “If they signed on to it, we gave them an immediate down payment, and we gave them the dates for the subsequent payment,” he added.
Beyond settling legacy obligations, however, the President said the more significant development is the government’s newfound ability to honour what producers are owed month by month. “The best announcement is, we are keeping up with their present-day bills… any bill they submit every month, we pay them for the electricity they produce,” he emphasised, saying the improved payment discipline signals a shift toward restoring trust within the sector and safeguarding reliable power generation.
The Kwahu remarks build on earlier disclosures made during the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February. At that address, Mahama announced the successful renegotiation of Ghana’s outstanding obligations to all nine IPPs, securing $250 million in immediate savings while restructuring $1.1 billion in legacy power sector debt for phased repayment between 2026 and 2028.
The Ministry of Finance has also confirmed that the government paid approximately $1.47 billion in the 2025 fiscal year alone to rescue and restore Ghana’s energy sector, including $393 million in legacy IPP debts, and has remained current on largely all IPP invoices for 2025.
The progress in debt restructuring and payment discipline is expected to ease financial pressures on power producers and contribute to greater stability in Ghana’s energy supply chain.
