The Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament has hinted that the management of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) will appear before the house to answer questions on why electricity tariffs should be increased. The committee contends that Ghanaians demand an explanation for the proposed tariff increment.
This follows an announcement by PURC that utility tariffs will go up in the first quarter of 2023 effective February 1, 2023. The information indicated that the end-user tariff for electricity and water has been increased by about 30 and 8.3 percent respectively following the conclusion of the PURC’s regulatory processes for quarterly adjustments.
Speaking to Citi News, Chairman of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, Samuel Atta Akyea said PURC and ECG must explain the rationale behind the increment.
“They should be able to explain to us why they think despite these difficulties, there should be an increase. I have not seen any rationalization for this increase, so I want to keep quiet until we as a committee find out from them what really is going on. As members of the committee, we do not have the underpinnings of this arrangement. So we need to call them, so we sit and engage them.”
Mr. Attah Akyea added that ECG must seal all revenue loopholes in order to generate more income.
“Some people are enjoying electricity at the expense of others that is why their books do not look good. We need to look at some of these things because in trying to come out of the doldrums, you don’t squeeze people too much. Rather, you do not sit down for people to enjoy free electricity. Go ahead and fix it.”
