Deputy Minister-designate for Energy, Andrew Egyapa Mercer has said there was no conflict of interest when he held a position in a company, TG Energy that was linked to the failed PDS concession deal.

He says he was appointed Director and not a shareholder of TG Energy. According to him, his appointment could have been terminated at any time.

He also stressed that it is appropriate for Lawyers to be appointed Directors and Secretaries as well as play their roles as Lawyers.

This was in response to a question posed by the MP for Tamale North, Alhaji Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini during the vetting of the nominee, whether it was appropriate for a lawyer to be appointed Director, Secretary during incorporation.

Deputy Minister-designate for Energy, Andrew Egyapa Mercer today, June 7, 2021 appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament among three others for the Deputy Ministerial nominees vetting.

Failed PDS concession

Government in July suspended the concession for the operation and maintenance of the assets and facilities of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) awarded to PDS.

PDS is a consortium between Meralco through Meridian Power Ventures Ltd. (30 percent), Angola-based firm AEnergia SA (19 percent), and three Ghanaian firms namely TG Energy Solution Ghana (18 percent); GTS Engineering Ghana Ltd. (10 percent), and TBK Ghana Ltd. (10 percent).

The suspension order was due to alleged material breaches in the provision of the demand guarantees by PDS, which were key prerequisites for the turnover of the assets and facilities.

But a week after the suspension, ECG and PDS agreed on an interim arrangement where the Meralco-led consortium would still continue activities related to the retail of electricity to ensure continued power supply and service to consumers.

These activities include meter reading, billing, distribution of bills, bill reconciliation, revenue collection, and new service connections.

It would also still be responsible for disconnections and reconnections, faulty meter replacements, network faults and repairs, complaints and fault reporting to the call centres, and any other related service.

The Meralco-led PDS signed the concession agreement with ECG on March 1, a year after Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) chose Meralco as the preferred bidder for private-sector participation in ECG and the Parliament of Ghana approved the 20-year concession agreement.

Under the agreement, ECG’s assets would be leased to the PDS for 20 years, while the ECG would become an asset holding company.

Meralco said the PDS Consortium has planned to invest over US$580 million for capital expenditures to strengthen the governance, management and operations of the ECG and improve the delivery of power to end-users as well as support Ghana’s socio-economic growth.

After the end of the concession, all assets would have been transferred back to ECG, it said.