Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, on Tuesday, July 10, 2018, laid before Parliament a paper on a concession agreement to allow a consortium of investors to privately invest in the Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG.
The agreement has already been approved by Cabinet and it is expected to be ratified by the House before it rises at the end of the month.
If Parliament approves the agreement, Meralco, a power company from the Philippines, would lead a consortium in managing ECG for 20 years beginning 2019.
Under the agreement, Meralco would inject US$580 million into ECG operations; with the United States also making available US$498m to complement the Meralco’s investment.
Energy Minister assured that no ECG worker will be laid off. The ECG would not be scrapped, but sublet power distribution to a company to be called Power Distribution Service Limited.
“ECG will still be ECG,†the Minister added.
The Minister praised the concession agreement and said, if such a deal had been made when Ghana began her energy sector reforms, the nation would not have gone through a prolonged period of power shortages.
The Paper has been referred to the Committee on Mines and Energy for consideration and report to the House.
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