PURC increases electricity by 27.15% and water tariff by 21.55%

Ghanaians must brace themselves to pay more for electricity and water as the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced a 27.15% increase in tariff for electricity and 21.55%.

The increment takes effect on September 1, 2022.

The PURC carried out nationwide consultations on proposals it received from the utility companies.

The Chairman of the PURC, Ebo Quagraine addressing the media on Monday, August 15, 2022, called on the public to support the utility companies to recoup revenues by reporting illegal connections.

ECG tariff proposal

The power distribution company, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), earlier proposed to the PURC seeking approval for the upward review of electricity tariff by 148% for 2022.

For the subsequent years – from 2023 to 2026 – the ECG is seeking further approval for a 7.6% tariff increase on its Distribution Service Charge (DSC) which is the charge for distributing electricity to Ghanaian households.

ECG in its multi-year tariff review proposal for the period from 2022-to 2026, asserts the high tariff increase is attributable to the cost of investment projects, the existing gap between actual cost recovery tariff and PURC approved tariffs and the effect of macroeconomic factors such as inflation and exchange rate.

Water tariff

The management of the Ghana Water Company (GWCL) in its proposal to the PURC said over the years, the approved tariffs have not been fully cost-reflective.

This has led to the inability of GWCL to raise enough revenue to finance the much-needed capital investment projects, with a consequent unsatisfactory level of service, the company said.

"Among the urban poor, water can be a critical resource in short supply. GWCL has therefore set up a Low-Income Customer Support Department (LICSD) to deliver improved services to targeted low-income urban poor areas," it added.

Source....www.sompaonline.com//Eric Murphy Asare