Awakenewsonline.com has picked information that utility consumers would pay a little higher in new tariffs from March 2019.
The announcement would be made this week by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), after a successful series of marathon stakeholders’ meetings.
According to a reliable source, “The way the parameters are going, there will be a slight increment, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you how much.”
March 2019 would be two years since utility consumers have been enjoying between 10% and 30% tariff reduction especially in electricity, since Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took over the “captain’s arm band” of Ghana’s economy.
In spite of this, some stakeholders including Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and Trades Union Congress, believe the tariffs regime in Ghana especially electricity, is too high as compared to other countries in the sub-region.
They have argued that utility tariffs be reduced further in order to bring some relief to them.
However, utility service providers have also made a strong case for increase in tariffs, also arguing that the reduction in tariffs has affected them, as funds needed for infrastructure development had not been forthcoming.
The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), for example, is demanding an adjustment from the current 2.5107 GP/kWh to 4.897 Gp/ kWh (exclusive of transmission losses), which is considered cost-reflective to cover Operating and Maintenance Costs, Depreciation, Finance Costs and a reasonable Return on Net Fixed Assets for 2019 while Northern Electricity Company (NEDCO) proposed an increment from the existing 0.307555 per kWh to 0.43 in 2019.
The Ghana Water Company Limited is demanding an increment from 0.0062 Gp per litre to 0.022 Gp per litre to help recover the loan payment and address its current challenges.
By: Umar Sheriff/awakenewsonline.com