Ranking Member of the Energy Committee of Parliament, John Jinapor, has revealed that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is facing a substantial debt of $1.5 billion.

This debt, according to Mr. Jinapor, is largely a result of ECG's failure to meet its financial obligations to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and its inability to fully pay for purchased electricity.

In a media interview, Mr. Jinapor called on ECG to provide transparent explanations for the recent power outages experienced by Ghanaians.

“ECG owes $1.5 billion, when they take the money from Ghanaians, they fail to pay the IPPs and use the funds to do whatever they want with it and they fail to pay the full price of the power they purchase and PURC has brought a report that when ECG comes in possession of a substantial amount of money they refuse to pay the debt they owe, they spend the money recklessly, and this is an official report from the PURC.

“Some of the things they buy, they don’t even need it, and now they want to be buying fuel, which is not even their core duty, all these are a reason the finances aren’t adding up,” he said.

Mr. Jinapor also criticized ECG for what he perceives as wasteful spending, citing examples such as excessive spending on cables, malfunctioning meters, and what he deems unnecessary contracts.

Referring to a report from the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Mr. Jinapor highlighted instances where he alleges ECG mismanaged funds, diverting significant amounts away from debt repayment to other expenditures.