Electricity And Water Tariffs Increased: PURC Announces Utility Rates By Up To 27.15% From September 1

• The cost of electricity and water has been announced to take effect from September 1, 2022
• The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) announced a 27.15% increase in electricity tariff while water the cost of water has gone up by 21.55%
• The PURC said rigorous analyses, intense debates, and extensive consultations informed the new tariff increases

The utility regulator, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), has announced higher tariffs for electricity and water from September 1, 2022.

The cost of electricity has been hiked by 27.15%, while water will cost 21.55% more. This means if a consumer used to load GH¢200 on their prepaid card for a month, they would need more than GH¢250 for the same period.

The PURC announced the new higher rates in a press release on Monday, August 15, explaining that the rates were agreed upon after concluding its regulatory process for examining and approving utility tariffs covering 2022 to 2025.

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The PURC said it conducted extensive stakeholder consultations with the utility service providers, enabling them to explain their proposals to the general public and key interest groups such as the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

“The tariff decisions for the period 2022 to 2025 have been informed by rigorous analyses, intense debates, and extensive consultations.

“The last major review of tariffs was done in 2018 which resulted in a 17.5% reduction for residential and 30% for non-residential in electricity tariff,” the PURC said in the press release.

The utility companies had requested higher increases. For example, the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) demanded over a 300% increase in end-user tariffs, while the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) proposed 148% and 113% increases, respectively.

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The Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) proposed 37% and 48% increments, respectively.

After receiving these proposals, the PURC said it carried out a rigorous regulatory audit of the processes and assets of Utility Service Providers, enabling it to adjust the Weighted Average Cost of Gas for power generation and end-user tariffs for electricity and water.

Ghana Among Top 10 African Countries In Ranking On Best Access To Electricity

YEN.com.gh reported in a previous story that data by the 'Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report' on access to electricity in 20 African countries shows Ghana listed among the top ten countries with the best access.

Ghana is ranked 7th with 85% access to power nationwide, just below South Africa's 6th position with 84% access to power.

Ghana also beats notable countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon, among other nations.

Source: YEN.com.gh