The Campaign Coordinator of the Integrated Social Development Center (ISODEC), Dr. Steve Manteaw has accused the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) of benefitting from tariff increases in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always been skeptical about the PURC and the public consultations they hold. I am aware that PURC benefits from the tariffs it approves. There is a certain percentage that goes to finance PURC\u2019s own operations,\u201d he alleged.<\/p>\n
The PURC, following moves by government to export power ships from Turkey to improve the power situation in the country, held several consultations with the citizenry and stakeholders over the matter.<\/p>\n
It subsequently announced that Ghanaians are prepared to pay close to 75% more for power, if the current load shedding improves.<\/p>\n
But speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show<\/strong>, Dr. Manteaw maintained that the utility companies themselves also bloat figures in proposals for tariff increases in order to outwit the system.<\/p>\n \u201c…My information is that normally, utility companies know what they want but they know they won\u2019t get it so in their proposals; they normally tend to increase it beyond what they actually want so that in their deliberations, when a lower tariff is approved, it comes back to what they actually would need.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo for me, I don\u2019t really take these consultations very serious. I think it\u2019s just a fa\u00e7ade to really get to the companies what they really are asking for,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, speaking to Citi News<\/strong>, Director of Communications and External Affairs at PURC, Nana Yaa Jantuah rejected the claim and described it as unfair.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you think that because of our own benefit we will increase tariffs? Why should we do that? Today, we are paying eight times, ten times, for electricity off the grid. We don\u2019t have any interest in there. What we are doing is in the best interest of everybody so that at the end of the day when we get new generations coming onboard we should be able to pay so that historically, we don\u2019t go back to a situation where debt is accumulated,” she explained.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Godwin A. Allotey\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n