VZCZCXRO7238
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAR #1849/01 2470909
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040909Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5209
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001849 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ENRG GH
SUBJECT: GHANA'S ENERGY CRISIS: RESTRUCTURING TOWARD FULL 
COST-RECOVERY 
 
Ref:  A) Accra 847; B) Accra 1012; C) Accra 1791; D) Accra 282 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  This is the fourth in a series of cables on Ghana's 
energy sector. The first, ref A, provided background on the crisis 
and near-term remedial measures. The second, ref B, focused 
primarily on the impact of the crisis on the mining sector.  The 
third, ref C, provided an update on the crisis and progress in 
putting in place new generation capacity.  This cable addresses 
distribution, transmission and regulatory issues.  The GoG reform 
efforts are being anchored by a recently approved $95 million World 
Bank/Global Environment Facility (GEF) Ghana Energy Development and 
Access Project (GEDAP).  Tariff reform, utility company 
restructuring, enhanced regional cooperation and expanded access to 
power are among the critical elements Ghana needs to implement in 
the near term if it wishes to attract investment and spur private 
sector development to meet its growth and poverty reduction goals. 
End Summary. 
 
--------------------- 
WORLD BANK ASSISTANCE 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) In July, the World Bank approved a $95.5 million Ghana Energy 
Development and Access Project (GEDAP) comprised of a $90 million 
concessional loan from its International Development Association and 
a $5.5 million grant from the GEF.  The aim of GEDAP is to improve 
institutional capacity of the regulator and utility companies, 
improve distribution and increase energy efficiency (Ghana loses an 
estimated 25% of what is generated in distribution), scale-up energy 
access to reduce urban-rural imbalances, and encourage the 
development of renewable energy. 
 
¶3. (U) Among the initiatives to be carried out under GEDAP is the 
creation of a Rural Electrification Agency that will coordinate the 
connection of 134,000 new customers in rural villages to the 
national grid and accelerate achievement of full rural 
electrification from 2020 to 2015.  Loan disbursement will depend on 
making progress in key areas such as tariff adjustment, improving 
performance of the Volta River Authority (VRA - responsible for most 
generation) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG - responsible 
for distribution), obtaining management support services for ECG, 
and submitting a renewable energy law to parliament. 
 
------------------------- 
TOWARD FULL COST-RECOVERY 
------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The GoG has been absorbing proposed end-user tariff increases 
for more than a year, at a high financial cost.  The direct 
operating and maintenance cost of thermal energy in 2006 was 3.8 
trillion cedis, or approximately $408 million.  That amount was 
above the total revenue of VRA in 2006.  In 2007, the thermal/hydro 
mix tilted even more toward thermal (and higher costs) with more 
than half of the electricity generated by VRA now coming from 
thermal sources.  Currently, the GoG provides subsidies worth about 
$30 million monthly - largely from tariff absorption.  VRA is 
currently discussing with the World Bank the option of separating 
the financial and managerial aspects of hydroelectric and thermal 
power to prevent hidden cross-subsidization of less efficiently-run 
thermal plants (VRA has more expertise in hydro) and make revenue 
streams more transparent. 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) [COMMENT: VRA's poor financial health nearly led to the 
shut down of Ghana's joint-venture thermal plant at Takoradi.  VRA 
was 12 months in arrears in payment to the private partner, TAQA 
(formerly CMS Energy).  TAQA forced the issue by scheduling a press 
conference announcing a shut down of the plant, and the GoG paid 
more than $30 million in the nick of time.  Although the GoG found 
the money to clear the arrears, it placed additional pressure on the 
budget.  Ghana has rescheduled some promissory notes and are eagerly 
awaiting the proceeds from the planned sovereign bond issue (ref C) 
to relieve the budget pressure.  END COMMENT.] 
 
¶6. (U) As part of ongoing reform efforts, the Public Utilities 
Regulatory Commission (PURC) determined average cost-recovery 
tariffs in May 2006.  The proposed increases were not immediately 
passed to consumers because the government felt there needed to be 
improvements in service before consumers could be expected to pay 
more.  The increase was slated to take effect in November 2006 but 
the government again decided to absorb the costs.  In April, 2007, 
the GoG committed to achieving full cost-recovery tariffs by the end 
of 2007; it is one of the critical measures Ghana said it would take 
to address its fiscal deficit.  GoG acceptance of the need to move 
to cost recovery is not a new development but the energy crisis has 
added urgency to the reform. 
 
¶7. (U) Cost-recovery tariffs at the May 2006 level (944 cents per 
kilowatt hour) were finally implemented in May 2007 for commercial 
users.  The tariffs are still below true cost-recovery since costs 
 
ACCRA 00001849  002 OF 003 
 
 
have risen over the last year.  Residential users were supposed to 
begin paying increased tariffs August 1 but rates have not changed. 
The Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), whose mandate is to 
set tariff levels, will conduct an operational and technical audit 
of utilities and a tariff study by the end of March 2008 as part of 
GEDAP. 
 
¶8. (U) PURC's forthcoming multi-year tariff regime framework will 
provide the basis for passing full costs to end-users.  However, 
considerable debate can be expected regarding tariff dispersal, 
e.g., should industry pay higher rates than the poor.  The GoG is 
faced with balancing priorities such as providing affordable power 
to the underserved and attracting new industrial investment in the 
face of stiff regional and global competition. In a recent radio 
interview PURC's Chairman estimated that a 20 percent tariff 
increase could bring VRA and ECG to cost recovery not including the 
high generating cost of the diesel-fueled emergency power plants. 
 
 
-------------------- 
UTILITY SECTOR REFORM 
-------------------- 
 
Transmission 
------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Ministry of Energy recently created an Electricity 
Transmission Utility, the Ghana Grid Company (GridCo), to take over 
the transmission activities of VRA and help create a level playing 
field for IPPs.  GridCo is state-owned but autonomous and will 
manage operations and maintenance, as well as the import and export 
of West Africa Power Pool (WAPP)-produced electricity.  PURC's 
Technical Manager for Energy indicated that the separation is sorely 
needed but will be difficult to implement.  He said account 
separation is not a problem but sorting out shared facilities and 
ongoing lending programs will be a challenge, as will the fact that 
Gridco, as a new company, has no track record that would enable them 
to easily access financial resources. 
 
Distribution 
------------ 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is responsible for 
distribution.  Under a plan agreed between the GoG and donor 
partners, ECG was to be put under a management contract supported by 
the Swiss.  However, because of negative experiences with management 
contracts in the telecom and water sectors, the GoG decided not to 
move forward.  Instead, the Ministry of Energy said it wishes to 
move forward with a plan to restructure ECG into a holding group 
with five subsidiary companies.  The holding group would provide 
broad policy direction while subsidiaries would be responsible for 
service delivery and maintenance and held accountable for agreed 
performance standards and incentives.  According to an Economic 
Advisor at the Swiss Embassy, the Swiss are now considering whether 
to provide support to ECG through a consultancy and hopes to have a 
program in place by early 2008. The ECG and the Ministries of Energy 
and Finance concluded a Performance Contract in January 2007 that 
sets out service and revenue standards for ECG and may be a basis 
for performance benchmarks for the potential consultancy. 
 
¶11. (SBU) [COMMENT:  The existence of the performance contract was 
news to donor partners, even those most closely engagedin the 
energy sector.  It has not been publicized at all and was brought to 
the attention of the Swiss only in August, even though donors had 
held intensive discussions with the GoG about performance indicators 
related to ECG.  The value of restructuring ECG as outlined by the 
Minister is not entirely clear.  The Minister touted it as part of 
the decentralization process but it could also simply further weaken 
an already weak structure.  END COMMENT.] 
 
-------------------------------------- 
REGIONAL INITIATIVES TOWARD EFFICIENCY 
-------------------------------------- 
 
WEST AFRICA POWER POOL (WAPP) 
----------------------------- 
 
¶12. (U) WAPP's goal is to integrate the regional power grid to 
create a regional energy reservoir from which West African countries 
can draw back-up power to reduce vulnerability to local disruptions. 
 WAPP's implementation is guided by a "master plan" of capital 
investments required by each country in the region to meet its 
energy needs. 
 
¶13. (U) A key piece of the WAPP is a 330 kilo-volt coastal 
transmission backbone that will interconnect power lines across 
borders and establish new lines within Ghana to transfer power to 
other countries. The Lagos (Nigeria) - Sakete (Benin) portion of 
this line was commissioned February 13, 2007, thereby enabling Benin 
and Togo to be supplied with Nigerian power, in addition to Ghanaian 
 
ACCRA 00001849  003 OF 003 
 
 
power, which they already can receive.  In the face of domestic 
shortages, VRA reduced power supply to Togo and Benin from 100MW to 
25MW earlier this year. 
 
¶14. (U) To maximize benefit from the WAPP, which attracts and 
facilitates investment in power assets, the GoG needs to invest 
about $8 million in new transmission lines.  VRA's financial woes 
have slowed the pace of investment which, in turn, slows WAPP 
progress.  The next priorities are to complete the Aboadze 
(Takoradi) - Volta (Tema) line and then the Volta - Sakete portion. 
The WAPP Secretariat has urged GoG to prioritize the financing of 
the Obuasi - Kumasi line, which will eventually connect with the 
Takoradi thermal plant (T2), which has long been slated for 
expansion from 220MW to 330MW.  The GoG insists that even though T2 
expansion has been pending for years, it will be completed.  If so, 
it would help to relieve the western bottleneck which has 
exacerbated transmission losses. 
 
WEST AFRICA GAS PIPELINE (WAGP) 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶15. (U) The West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAGP) which will channel 
Nigerian gas to Benin and Togo, and Tema and Takoradi in Ghana, has 
faced numerous hurdles that have delayed completion such as 
political instability in gas producing areas, sale of a 
subcontractor to another company, challenging shore crossings, and 
pipe rupture. 
 
¶16. (U) The WAGP, in which Chevron has the highest percentage of 
ownership in the West Africa Pipeline Company consortium, is now 
scheduled to come online during the second quarter of calendar year 
2008, though targets for completion have repeatedly slipped.  Though 
the WAGP will not provide additional generating capacity, gas will 
significantly reduce the cost of energy (operating costs will 
decrease by 30-40 percent by switching from fuel oil) and could 
induce additional private investment. 
 
¶17. (SBU) The Gas Purchase Agreement among the WAGP countries calls 
for 20 years of gas flow from Nigeria (about 135 cubic feet of gas 
per day - 124 for VRA and 11 split between Togo and Benin).  Gas 
will be supplied by Shell, Chevron, and the Nigerian National 
Petroleum Corporation.  Nigeria initially agreed to supply Ghana 
with enough gas to run approximately 660MW of thermal generation, 
but most experts project that gas demand will exceed supply and, as 
early as 2010, demand will be twice the supply.  Nigeria claims 
supply constraints are temporary but the uncertainty adds an 
additional risk for prospective independent power producers. 
 
¶18. (U) To maximize the benefit from the WAGP, Ghana should develop 
a secondary gas market, which would provide a source of fuel for 
industry and an incentive for additional investment in power 
generation.  Regarding this secondary gas market, more than two 
years ago USAID contractors provided advice to the GoG on developing 
a regulatory framework.  GOG has yet to adopt the regulations and 
necessary policy elements for the market to exist. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶19. (SBU) COMMENT: Avoiding future energy crises in Ghana will 
depend largely on Ghana's ability to get its utilities on solid 
financial footing and the regulatory environment right for 
sustainable private investment in the energy sector.  Per reftels, 
the GoG is addressing the energy crisis but, for the moment, it is 
doing so primarily through expensive emergency generation 
investment.  Over the medium to long-term, it needs to make 
significant progress in providing broader access to power for all 
Ghanaians and to stem the financial and technical losses that 
currently characterize the sector.  END COMMENT. 
 
BRIDGEWATER