Galamsey Threat: ECG and Ghana Water Justify Push for 200% Increase in Tariff Components
- The Ghana Water Limited and the Electricity Company of Ghana have continued their push for an increase in tariffs
- They have blamed recent calls for tariff increases on the devastation from illegal gold mining, known as galamsey
- These concerns were disclosed during public hearings on the proposed tariff adjustments in the Ashanti Region
The Ghana Water Limited and the Electricity Company of Ghana attributed their proposed increase in utility tariffs under the 2025 - 2030 Multi-Year Tariff Order to the impact of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Ghana Water has said the widespread pollution of water bodies has increased the cost of water treatment.
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The Electricity Company of Ghana also argued that sections of its power distribution network passing through forest reserves have been damaged by illegal mining activities, resulting in frequent outages and rising operational costs.
These concerns were disclosed during public hearings on the proposed tariff adjustments in the Ashanti Region.
The Electricity Company of Ghana Director of Communications, William Boateng, said poles had been weakened by illegal mining activity.
“Anytime we have the slightest rainfall, the poles come down because the base has been weakened. That affects the stability of the power supply."
Boateng said this leads to chain collapses along power lines, leading to repair expenses.
Both utilities maintained that addressing the environmental damage caused by galamsey is crucial to sustaining affordable and reliable water and power supply for Ghanaians.
In comments to YEN.com.gh, Awula Serwaa, the coordinator of Eco-Conscious Citizens, stressed the urgency of the galamsey threat.
She reiterated calls for a state of emergency because of the wide-ranging devastation from galamsey.
"We want a state of emergency.. we can marshal all our resources, whether it is your armed forces, to remove all the environmental terrorists from our forest reserves, water bodies, and our farmlands.”
Factors considered by PURC for tariff adjustments
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission has explained that factors considered for tariff adjustment include the Ghana Cedi-US Dollar exchange rate, domestic inflation rate, the electricity generation mix (hydro and thermal), and the cost of natural gas.
For the fourth quarter, the commission said it applied the projected weighted average Ghana Cedi-US Dollar exchange rate of GHS12.3715 to $1.00, while the annual average inflation rate used for the quarter was 12.43%.
The projected hydro-thermal generation mix remained the same as the previous quarter, with hydro at 28.80% and thermal at 71.20%.
The approved Weighted Average Cost of Gas (WACOG) was USD 7.7134/MMBtu, which also remained unchanged from the third quarter.
As a result of these factors, the PURC approved new electricity rates for various customer categories.
For lifeline customers (0-30 kWh), the new tariff is GHp80.4389 per kWh, up from GHp79.5308.
PURC increases electricity tariffs
In September, YEN.com.gh reported that the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission increased electricity tariffs by 1.14%.
Water tariffs will remain unchanged despite the utility providers’ call for an over 200% increment, according to the PURC.
The adjustment followed the quarterly review of inflation, exchange rates, and generation costs.
Source: YEN.com.gh
