The Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) on Monday announced increases in electricity and water tariffs with effect from September 1, 2022.
This means Ghanaians will now pay a 27.15% increase in tariff for electricity and 21.55% increase in water tariff.
This comes after utility companies including the Electricity Company of Ghana and Ghana Water Company Limited proposed an increase in tariffs by 148% and 334% respectively.
" ... The commission admitted, however, that some level of increases in utility were inevitable if the nation was to avoid another 'Dumsor' and it attendant including job losses. The Commission, therefore, decided after rigorous analysis and extentive consultations to increase the end user and electricity tariff by 27.15 percent and water by 21.55 percent effective 1st September 2022," Executive Secretary of the PURC Dr. Ishmael Ackah said at a presser.
The utility companies including the Electricity Company of Ghana and Ghana Water Company Limited proposed an increase in tariffs by 148% and 334% respectively.
The ECG had proposed that its tariffs be increased by 148% for 2022 and with 7.6% average adjustments between the periods of 2023 to 2026.
The proposed sharp increase, according to the ECG was due to the gap between the actual cost recovery tariff and PURC-approved tariffs as well as the cost of completed projects.
The GWCL also argued that while the average tariff per cubic metre in 2019 was 1.27 USD, the same was reduced to USD 1.13 as a result of cedi depreciation.
The GWCL said this had affected its ability to carry out repairs and replacements of aged and obsolete equipment and pipelines.