Residents of Sekondi-Takoradi have expressed disagreement with the introduction of the new tariffs implemented by the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission, PURC which will begin in September this year.
The PURC announced a 4.22 percent increase in electricity for non-life residential customers and 1.18 percent for all water customers.
They said the timing for introducing the new tariffs is wrong, citing the recent economic challenges saddling Ghanaians.
However, the Head of Research and Corporate Affairs at PURC, Dr Eric Obutey, explains the reasons for the adjustment.
” The factors we use this time round lead to this low rate because we have four major factors that we consider when we come to the tariff adjustment for the minor tariff review. Those ones are the exchange rates, the inflation, the generation mix between hydro and thermal and the fuel costs.
The only thing that actually drove the tariff was the fuel cost. The fuel cost went up by about 24.6 percent i.e. the gas prices went up by about 24.6 percent and that is what led to the tariff adjustment upwards. So if these fuel costs had not gone up by that percentage margin, I’m sure we would have experienced a lower tariff or the same level of tariff that we were supposed to be paying.”
He added that the increases in the prices of fuel at the pumps also account for the marginal adjustment in the utility tariffs.
” The Commission is very mindful of the economic situation in the country and taking on board the suffering of consumers, trying to assuage the suffering of those in the lifeline group, so those in the lifeline group are supposed not to experience any adjustment at all.
Those in the non-life line group who actually do not use electricity very much for any productive use, those people will experience 4.22 percent and those who are in the industrial class are being encouraged to produce more to use the electricity more productively so as to encourage growth in the economy so that’s the reason we didn’t touch the industrial class.”
