Ghana Power Cuts Extended to Coca-Cola and Unilever Plants

Ghana says it will cut power to factories including ones run by Unilever NV and Coca-Cola Co. to offset a worsening shortage of electricity.

Factories will lose power for 48 hours and then have continuous supply for six days, the Electricity Company of Ghana said on its website. Electricity will be available to residential areas for 24 hours, followed by cuts for 12 hours, the company said.

Bloomberg reports that the new schedule runs from yesterday through Jan. 1. Ghana is West Africa’s second-largest economy and the second-largest gold producer in Africa.

Ghana cut its economic growth forecast for 2015 in about half because of soaring inflation and chronic power shortages that are curbing investor sentiment. President John Dramani Mahama created a Ministry of Power last month to deal with shortages that worsened this year because of a lack of natural gas and low water levels at the largest hydroelectric dam.

The world’s second-largest cocoa producer has struggled to chip away at power and water shortages that have held back investment in the economy since the discovery of oil in 2007.