The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has secured a major legal victory after a London arbitration tribunal dismissed all claims brought against it by Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited, ending a three-year dispute over the termination of the controversial PDS concession agreement.
The concession, signed in 2019 under the Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) programme, was meant to inject private-sector efficiency into ECG’s operations. However, the government terminated the deal after discovering that PDS’s payment guarantees issued through Al Koot Insurance and Reinsurance Company of Qatar were fraudulent. Qatar’s courts on the other hand later confirmed the documents were forged.
PDS had sued for wrongful termination, demanding over $390 million in damages and lost profits. ECG, represented by Cherie Blair KC’s Omnia Strategy LLP, argued that PDS failed to verify the authenticity of the guarantees and that the termination was in Ghana’s national interest.
The tribunal upheld ECG’s position and dismissed all of PDS’s claims, describing the fraudulent guarantees as central to the collapse of the agreement. The ruling spares Ghana from a hefty financial liability and marks the end of one of the country’s most contentious energy disputes, allowing ECG to refocus on improving power distribution nationwide.
