Image: Johnnybam / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
President John Mahama said Ghana will sign an agreement for a 1,200MW state-owned gas-fired plant before the end of the year, which would be larger than the 1,020MW Akosombo dam, while declining further IPP capacity offers.
Ghana will sign an agreement before the end of 2026 for a 1,200MW state-owned gas-fired thermal power plant, President John Dramani Mahama told members of the Ghanaian community at a town hall in New York on 25 September 2026, Graphic Online reported on 26 September. “Before the end of this year, we’re going to sign 1,200 megawatts of gas thermal power,” he said.
What the President said
According to Graphic Online, the plant would surpass the 1,020MW Akosombo hydroelectric station as Ghana’s largest single power facility. Mahama said independent power producers (IPPs) had offered an additional 500MW of capacity, but the government preferred to build state-controlled generation. He linked the choice to the global shift towards renewable energy and electric vehicles and the need to avoid stranded assets.
MyJoyOnline reported on 28 September that the government says it has cleared accumulated energy-sector debts owed to IPPs, that payments are now current, and that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has restructured revenue collection so that consumer payments flow directly to power producers. Graphic Online reported that gas from the Jubilee and Eni-operated projects will supply new thermal plants. No developer, contractor, site, cost or financing structure has been announced.
Why it matters
A state-owned plant larger than Akosombo, chosen over further IPP offers, signals a preference for public ownership of new baseload capacity. For existing IPPs, the key questions are how the new plant will be dispatched alongside their contracted capacity, whether it affects their capacity payments, and how ECG’s restructured payment waterfall will rank the state plant against private generators.
For contractors, equipment suppliers and lenders, the procurement route matters. A deal signed within three months suggests an EPC or EPC-plus-finance arrangement, possibly with export credit or bilateral lenders, rather than a competitive IPP tender. Counsel should look at compliance with Ghana’s public procurement law and any parliamentary approval requirements for loans or guarantees.
Gas supply agreements will also be central. Long-term supply from Jubilee and Eni’s fields, pricing, transport through existing pipelines and the allocation of shortfall risk will determine whether the plant is bankable, and whether the state takes on take-or-pay exposure under the gas contracts. Investors will want to see the offtake, fuel supply and financing documents before treating the announcement as a firm project.
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