The Electricity Company of Ghana, a government-operated power provider, temporarily disconnected electricity to the parliamentary complex on Thursday, urging the legislative body to settle an outstanding debt of 23 million Ghanaian cedis, approximately $1.8 million.

Local news outlets captured the dramatic moment when lawmakers found themselves in darkness within the parliamentary chamber, prompting them to chant collectively, “dumsor, dumsor,” which translates to blackout in Twi, the local language.

The communications director of ECG, William Boateng, informed Reuters that the decision to disconnect power was taken after the legislature did not respond to notices demanding payment.

“Disconnections are for everybody; anyone who doesn’t pay and fails to make arrangements, the team will disconnect,” Boateng explained. “They paid 13 million cedi ($1 million) and promised to pay the rest in a week, so our guys reconnected them.”

This move comes amid extensive unpaid bills in Ghana’s power industry, leading to an increase in electricity outages. Tensions between the government and power generation companies have further exacerbated the situation.

Ghanaian lawmaker Edward Bawa disclosed that a power failure resulted in a fellow parliamentarian and several staff members being trapped in elevator lifts. He remarked, “The whole sector is suffering under debt, and these are some of the consequences.”

In April 2023, the energy authority in Ghana reported an installed energy capacity of 5,454 MW, of which 4,483 MW is operational. Ghana’s thermal power generation relies heavily on natural gas, occasionally supplemented by light crude oil and diesel. The country exports power to Togo, Benin, and Burkina Faso.

As Ghana struggles with its worst economic crisis in a generation, characterized by double-digit inflation and mounting public debt, the government has been working to restructure the power sector and secure a debt deal with independent power producers.

In July of the previous year, independent power producers reached an interim deal with the ECG over arrears owed to them, with a warning to shut down their plants if the issue remained unresolved.