Ghanatodayonline.com News, Politics, Health, Education & More
A 14.75% increase in the average end-user power rate and a 4.02% increase in water tariffs for all consumer categories have been announced by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
According to the Commission’s rate-setting standards for the periodic adjustment of natural gas, electricity, and water tariffs, the modification is consistent with its quarterly tariff review system, which it used to justify the decision in a statement.
The Commission claims that the Cedi/US dollar exchange rate, inflation, the mix of power generation, and the cost of fuel—primarily natural gas—used to produce electricity are the four main factors influencing the revisions.
The Commission clarified that the action is meant to prevent both an excessive and insufficient collection of revenues.
The Commission raised utility rates in July of last year, increasing water rates by 1.18% and power rates by 4.22%.
With today’s announcement of yet another upward adjustment, the typical Ghanaian consumer has suffered a cumulative 18.97% increase in power tariffs and a 5.20% increase in water tariffs in less than a year. This puts additional burden on the country’s already precarious economic situation.
The Commission also defended the increase by citing utility firms’ poor revenue recovery, which it said was seriously “bleeding” those businesses. It cautioned that the utility providers might go out of business if tariffs are not raised.
The statement also emphasized the Commission’s moderation in making the changes, claiming that if it had chosen to recover all of the unpaid bills from earlier quarters, the increases might have been more drastic.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
