Ghanaians will know if they will be paying more for water and electricity in the next few days after a scheduled review of utility tariffs for the final quarter of the year by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
Speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Commission, Nana Yaa Gyantuah said they will take various factors into consideration before deciding on an upward or otherwise change in the tariffs.
[contextly_sidebar id=”h6qvaptVnkmmAGQ0TQTZSVcmYNLSDpzt”]“At the moment we are still working on the figures, we are doing all the calculations and we haven’t reached any results yet. By next week we hope to have finished everything,” she explained.
She added: Today we find that crude oil price is high, tomorrow you find its low. So till we finish our work with the final figure, we cannot say which way we are going.”
President John Mahama, on Thursday, charged the reconstituted board of the PURC to fix reasonable electricity tariffs and make power more affordable for business and residential consumers, saying that this would will ensure more private sector participation in power generation.
“We are entering an era where we are seeing more private sector, interest and participation in the Energy and Power sector and the only way that the private sector will invest their money in energy and power generation is if they feel that the plain field is conducive, that it is level and reasonable and it guarantees them a fair return on the investment that they make and it is the PURC that can create that kind of environment for them,” the president said.
The last time the PURC adjusted the tariffs on September 30, it announced an increase of 6.54 percent and 4.54 percent in electricity and water tariffs respectively.
The move was met with widespread criticism, with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) calling for its “immediate and unconditional reversal, labelling it “ill- timed” and “absolutely insensitive.”
However, according to the Commission, the increase in the tariffs for the third quarter of the year was agreed on, after careful consideration of all factors which form the basis of the Automatic Adjustment Formula.
It therefore advised Ghanaians to conserve energy and water to mitigate the challenges being faced as a result of the unreliable supply of these two essential commodities.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @eddiekkofi