Sunon Asogli shuts down 560MW power plant over $259m debt

Sunon Asogli Power (Ghana) Limited has announced the shutdown of its 560MW power plant due to the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) failure to meet overdue payment obligations.

This has left Sunon Asogli unable to continue funding its operations.

In a statement released on October 16, 2024, the company disclosed that ECG owes a net receivable of $259 million (excluding fuel) as of the end of September 2024.

Despite Sunon Asogli’s decision not to invoice ECG for idle capacity, the debt owed has increased by 23% between January and September 2024, with only 22.6% of the invoices for that period settled through the Cash Waterfall Mechanism.

“Sunon Asogli Power (Ghana) has over the years been very considerate in its dealings with ECG and the government, and, unlike other independent power producers, has not even invoiced ECG for accrued idle capacity charges.

“Despite this, ECG owes Sunon Asogli a net (excluding fuel) receivable amount of $259 million as of the end of September 2024.

“Our debt has grown by 23% on the net balance, between January 2024 and September 2024 and only 22.6% of the invoices for the period have been paid by ECG from the Cash Waterfall Mechanism,” he stated.

Sunon Asogli expressed deep regret over the impact of the shutdown on the national power supply but emphasized that it had no alternative.

The company further called on the Ministry of Finance to intervene and facilitate a resolution that will allow it to resume operations as soon as possible.