The United States of America has expressed her commitment to fully support Ghana’s power sector towards transforming the economy and achieving the “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda.

The US government pledged to continue investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the power sector to aid the government of Ghana’s industrial agenda.

Madam Stephanie Sullivan, the US Ambassador to Ghana, speaking at the official transfer of Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) assets and operations to Power Distribution Services Ghana Limited (PDS), in Accra, on Wednesday, said the take-over would aid in restructuring Ghana’s energy sector through private sector participation.

Consequently, it would service the needs of about four million power customers, individuals and businesses and ultimately alleviate poverty among the populace, she added.

She referred to the financial support the US government had provided the government of Ghana through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) over the years, noting that, it was the largest under the Power Africa Initiative.

The US Ambassador believed the Power Compact would enhance the everyday lives of ordinary Ghanaians by improving the supply of reliable power and ensure sustainable economic growth as well as create better opportunities for self-employment.

“Today marks another important milestone under the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

“But change will not happen overnight and lots remain to be done to stabilise this critical sector of the economy, on which so much else depends.

“For Ghana to succeed in its transition to enterprise driven development, PDS must be successful,” the US Ambassador stated.

Meralco Consortium partnered AEnergia SA, an Angolan company, and three Ghanaian companies; TG Energy solution Ghana Limited, Santa Power limited and GTS Power Limited to form PDS, which is 51 per cent Ghanaian-owned.

For the next 20 years beginning from March1, 2019, the PDS Ghana Limited would be the electricity service provider in all of the ECG’s operational areas in the Southern Distribution Zone of Ghana, including Greater Accra, Eastern, Volta, Central and Western regions.

ECG’s assets would be leased to the PDS Ghana Limited, the Concessionaire, while ECG would become an Asset Holding Company, and after the end of the Concession, all assets would be transferred back to the ECG

Under the concession terms, PDS will invest a minimum of US$580 million into the country’s power sector for the first five years of operation alone.

It would operate and maintain existing ECG assets and provide sustainability for new MCC funded assets for the next twenty years.

Source: GNA