Consumers risk paying energy sector levies in perpetuity – ACEP

ENERGY sector think tank, the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), has warned that energy consumers could be made to shoulder the burden of the energy sector levies in perpetuity.

It said this followed the introduction of a new structure in 2017 that altered the scope and timeline for retiring the legacy debts.

The centre said in its policy brief released last month that although about GH¢8.06 billion of debt was reported to have been settled so far, nobody knew how much of the legacy debt and associated interest was outstanding and when the accrued amount could be settled.

This, it said, was due to unavailable comprehensive information on the total outlook of legacy debt.

ACEP noted in the report dubbed: ‘The state of the energy and extractive sectors of Ghana: Critical reforms required for sustainable economic recovery’, that the levies were also insufficient to address the financial hurdles facing the energy sector.

It explained that the