New electricity tariff hike announced by PURC

By: Nii Ammui Fio | 2 mins read

Ghana’s electricity consumers are bracing for another increase in their utility bills, as the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has approved a 2.45% hike in electricity tariffs, effective July 1.

This upward adjustment, announced as part of the Commission’s routine Quarterly Tariff Review, will affect all consumer categories. Water tariffs, however, will remain unchanged.

The PURC explained that the tariff adjustment reflects fluctuations in key economic indicators that impact the operations of utility providers but are beyond their control.

These include the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Ghana cedi, domestic inflation, the cost of natural gas, and the current generation mix of hydro and thermal power.

In addition, the Commission noted that it had to account for a GHC488 million debt accumulated over the past three quarters, reserve capacity needs to maintain grid stability, and 27% of the cost burden associated with alternative fuels like Distillate Fuel Oil (DFO), Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), and Light Crude Oil (LCO).

This latest adjustment follows a more significant increase earlier this year when the PURC implemented a 14.75% rise in electricity tariffs and a 4.02% increment in water tariffs after its first and second quarter reviews.

The persistent hikes are becoming a growing source of public frustration, particularly amid Ghana’s ongoing economic challenges.

Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), strongly criticized the move, describing it as unjustifiable in light of existing inefficiencies within the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

“If you look at the circumstances surrounding the ECG, there are issues of accountability that render even public procurement processes and laws moot and ineffective,” Amoah stated. “We have almost 2,000 containers unaccounted for, running into hundreds of millions of Cedis. Then, we turn back and claim we don’t have money, hence being unable to sustain operations. Therefore, we are raising tariffs. This doesn’t add up, and PURC needs to backtrack on the decision.”

The Commission, however, remains firm on its stance, expressing appreciation to stakeholders and reaffirming its commitment to upholding regulatory standards.

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