Power Distribution Service Ltd (PSD) will today February 27, 2019, officially take over the Electricity Company of Ghana.
The planned takeover of ECG by PDS Ghana was postponed last month.
Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana was expected to take over the operations of ECG effective February 1, 2019.
A statement from The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) said “On Thursday, 21st February 2019, the Board of Directors of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) confirmed Wednesday, 27th February 2019 as the date for the ceremony to hand over the electricity distribution Assets and Operations of the Electricity Company of Ghana Ltd (ECG) to Power Distribution Services Ltd (PDS).”
“The Board of Directors and the ECG PSP Stakeholders anticipate a smooth transition, and count on the support and cooperation of all Ghanaians to ensure the success of PDS as the new Electricity Distribution Operator in the Southern Distribution Zone of Ghana.”
MiDA wishes to assure Ghanaians that it will continue to adhere to, and uphold high standards of transparency throughout the process.
Planned turnaround of ECG
Power Distribution Services has promised a massive turnaround of ECG when they finally take over.
PDS is expected to invest over ¢500 million in ECG.
The Millennium Development Authority has indicated there are clauses in the concession that would result in the “agreement” being reviewed every five years, that is if they are not able to meet the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) under the concession.
The journey to get a private sector player to manage the affairs of the ECG started after Ghana won the power compact two which is expected to inject some 900 million dollars into the ECG.
Ghana signed the Power Compact with the United States of America acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government agency, on the sidelines of the US Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC on August 5, 2014
Under the Power Compact, six projects are being implemented to address the root causes of the unavailability and unreliability of power in Ghana.
The project includes ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, NEDCo Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, Regulatory Strengthening and Capacity Building Project, and Access Project.
The rest are Power Generation Sector Improvement Project and Energy Efficiency, and Demand Side Management Project.
