Director of Research and Corporate Affairs at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Dr. Eric Obutey, has defended recent increases in utility tariffs, insisting that consumers are receiving value for money despite persistent complaints over erratic power supply and inconsistent water flow in parts of the country.
Speaking in an interview earlier today, Dr. Obutey acknowledged the concerns of citizens facing blackouts and water shortages, but emphasized that utility service providers are operating within regulatory benchmarks set by the Commission.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, has also called on the PURC to reverse the decision to impose an upward adjustment of utility tariffs.
Duncan Amoah indicated that industry players will oppose the hikes if the government fails to rescind the decision.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) announced an upward adjustment in the average end-user tariff for electricity by 14.75%, and a 4.02% increase in water tariffs across the board for all categories of consumers.
The PURC attributed the adjustments to factors including the exchange rate between the Ghana cedi and the US dollar, inflation projections, and fuel costs.
The Commission further justified the increment by pointing to the under-recovery of revenue by utility companies, a situation it described as causing serious “bleeding” in those entities. It warned that failure to increase tariffs could potentially push the utility companies out of business.
The statement also highlighted the Commission’s restraint in the adjustments, arguing that the increments could have been more severe had it opted to recoup 100% of the outstanding debts from previous quarters.
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