Ghana’s debt burden which has finally made progress on restructuring its external debt, is still in dispute with two of its electricity suppliers over arrears.

Minister of Finance Mohammed Amin Adam said earlier this month that the nation owes its power producers $1 billion, of which deals have been reached to restructure much of that debt. But the head of an energy lobby group said the right figure was $2.2 billion.

“We don’t simply count our monthly invoices and deduct what payments have been made,” said Elikplim Apetorgbor, chief executive officer of the Independent Power Generators, Ghana. He said that any debt deal must include interest on delayed payments, exchange rate losses and idle capacity charges, among other things.

The government said it has agreements with five out of seven independent power producers, leaving deals with Chinese-owned Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Ltd. and a unit of Istanbul-based Karpowership outstanding. The bill due to Sunon-Asogli alone is now more than $800 million, Apetorgbor said.

Recalling that Ghana has been hit by power cuts this year because of a lack of funds to pay suppliers. That’s hampered economic activity, even as it makes headway in restructuring its debts after defaulting in 2022 and being forced to seek International Monetary Fund support.

Ghana did install capacity of 5,639 megawatts at the end of last year, but it’s struggling to generate enough to meet peak demand of 3,618 megawatts. If power cuts resume because the dispute isn’t resolved quickly, it could dim the outlook for growth and potentially become a factor in December’s presidential elections.