Electricity tariffs have been increased by 11.17 percent and will take effect on July 1, 2019.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) approved the increase after considering proposals from a number of stakeholders.
“In taking the above decisions, the commission received and considered tariff proposals from stakeholders including the following utility services providers in the electricity and water sectors; Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited, Northern Distribution Company (NEDCo) and Enclave Power Company Limited (EPC),” PURC said in a statement.
In the statement, PURC said the key objective of the tariff review “was to sustain the financial viability of utility service providers as well as ensuring the delivery of quality services to consumers.”
“This 2019-2020 major Tariff Review Decision is the outcome of prudent cost review and effective monitoring undertaken by the commission.”
In addition, the PURC has eliminated the Maximum Demand Charge on industrial customers (Special Load Tariff-SLT Customers).
This is in line with a major policy shift aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of Ghanaian industries.
It is expected that this policy will result in some 5LT customers experiencing savings in their overall electricity bills.
The Commission was expected to have announced new tariffs in February 2019 but deferred the decision to the end of the second quarter of 2019.
The PURC has also received a tariff proposal from the Ghana Water Company Limited but it says “the decision on this will be announced in due course.”
Consumers anxious; release new electricity tariffs now – ACEP to PURC
The announcement comes barely a day after the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) express worry over the delay in PURC releasing the new tariffs.
According to ACEP, the delay was creating anxiety among consumers especially those in the business community.
“The practice has been that new tariffs are announced at least two weeks prior to effective date. This is necessary to allow stakeholders to adjust their systems and budget to accommodate the new tariff. However… [barely] a few days shy of the proposed 1st July tariff effective date, the tariff has not been announced.”
“ACEP does not expect the Commission to, within few days to the effective date, ambush electricity consumers with the new tariff which holds about 90% chance of upward adjustment. This is because doing so potentially distorts the plans of consumers significantly, particularly the business community whose investment decisions have been held hostage by the uncertainty in the expected tariff adjustment level,” ACEP added in the statement signed by its Executive Director, Benjamin Boakye.