The state-owned Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on Thursday cut off power supplies to parliament, citing debts of 23 million Ghanaian cedis (US$1.8 million, £1.4 million).
Debate on the President’s State of the Union address was suspended due to a power outage.
Videos shared by local media showed lawmakers in the dimly lit chamber chanting “Dumsol, Dumusol”, which means “blackout” in the local Akan language.
Local media reported that emergency generators restored power to the room minutes later.
However, other parts of the Capitol remained without power for most of the day until power was restored.
According to a report by Ghanaian broadcaster TV3, 4,444 members of parliament and staff who were using elevators were stranded when the power went out.
William Boateng, the utility’s communications director, told Reuters that the utility cut power because Congress refused to “meet its demands for payment.
“Power was restored later that day after Parliament paid 13 million cedis and promised to settle the remaining debt within a week, Boateng added.
Parliamentary Treasurer Ebenezer Ahuma Jetoror denied that Parliament was obliged to pay the amount offered by the power company.
He said the company’s systems did not record recent council payments and claimed the unpaid electricity bill was approximately $950,000.
Ghana’s electricity companies are suffering from devastating financial difficulties and frequently cut off power to indebted customers.”Amputations can happen to anyone.
Those who do not pay the fee and do not take precautions will be dismissed from the team,” Boateng told Reuters.
Power shortages have worsened in recent years and have become more frequent in recent months as the country faces its worst economic crisis in a decade.
Private power companies owe $1.6 billion to state power companies, according to Erikpurim Kwabla Apetogbor, head of an association representing private power companies.
Last July they threatened to shut down the business due to non-payment.
Opposition MPs called on the government to invest in the energy sector to prevent it from collapsing. They believe that the current challenge lies in the lack of funds to purchase fuel for domestic thermal power plants.