The Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Independent Power Producers, Dr. Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor is calling on the new government to urgently review and complete the energy sector debt restructuring which was commenced by the previous administration.
Dr. Apetorgbor says reviewing and finalizing the negotiations of the restructuring exercise is key to resolving the liquidity challenges of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and restoring confidence in the government.
The Power Systems Specialist who spoke to The High Street Journal at the end of the 2-Day National Economic Dialogue indicated that the current state of the uncompleted exercise has serious implications on the energy sector legacy debts.
This he says, can further cripple the industry and impact negatively on power generation for the economy.
“We recommended that the government should complete the negotiations that the previous government started. Because when that is done, it has a serious impact on the legacy debts or the energy sector liquidity,” he told The High Street Journal.
The new government, he says, must assess the existing agreements, sign off on those it finds acceptable, and renegotiate arrangements it finds necessary to help bring finality to the process.
He noted, “it is very important that the government take it seriously, review what has been done, and sign off on those ones that they are comfortable with. And if possible, they can renegotiate other ones. They should just complete the processes where the negotiations have reached.”
As part of the broader debt restructuring program, the previous administration initiated the energy sector debt restructuring exercise to curtail the high legacy debt the sector was grappling with. Although the government was successful with some IPPs, the exercise became tough some IPPs failed to come to terms with the offer of the government.
Tensions were very high as some abandoned the negotiations table and subsequently went ahead to shut down their power plants. Later, cool heads prevailed after thorough negotiations leading to the power plants coming online and the debt restructuring talks to continue. Unfortunately, the previous administration could not complete the exercise before it was voted out of office.
It is in the light of this background that the CEO of the IPPs’ Chamber is urging the new administration to revisit the exercise, assess, and renegotiate where possible to bring finality to the issue and stabilize the sector.
Reviewing the outcome of the economic dialogue, Dr. Apetorgbor who was a member and the presenter for the structural reforms working group was full of praise of structure and the organization of the dialogue.
He acknowledged that the decision to rely on expert-prepared papers to guide discussions is a key innovation. He believes this approach has led to targeted, issue-based resolutions that, if implemented, could bring meaningful economic recovery hence touting the exercise as “most well-organized.”
Dr. Apetorgbor maintained that given the political will and the assurances of the president and the ministers, the solutions provided by the experts will not just end in books but will be implemented to ensure the transformation of the economy.
