{"id":173416,"date":"2015-12-10T13:47:32","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T13:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=173416"},"modified":"2015-12-10T14:31:31","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T14:31:31","slug":"dont-blame-purc-for-utility-price-increases-aies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/12\/dont-blame-purc-for-utility-price-increases-aies\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t blame PURC for utility price increases \u2013 AIES"},"content":{"rendered":"

The African Institute of Energy and Sustainability (AIES) says Ghanaians should not blame the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) for the recent utility tariff hikes.<\/p>\n

This was after the PURC approved a 59.2 and 67.2 percent increases in electricity and water respectively.<\/p>\n

Some political parties, labour unions and civil society groups have described the increment as unfortunate and wicked.<\/p>\n

[contextly_sidebar id=”8AID12ey6C6TYfbdfUP3X1OApF69xxyN”]But the Executive Director of AIES Dr. Samiu Kwadwo Nuamah, in an interview with Citi News said\u00a0the increment is largely due to the worsening economic conditions and other external factors.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0however says\u00a0utility price adjustments must not to be taken lightly and must be approached with circumspection.<\/p>\n

\u201cPURC they are just regulators and before they come out with the prices, they look several factors and none of these factors is under their control. They are all external factors\u2026for instance the depreciation of the cedi has everything to do with Government\u2019s management of the economy so how can we blame the PURC for looking at the devaluation of the cedi in their consideration of the pricing? They only look at the current prevailing situation and they come out with the pricing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Nuamah says going forward Ghana may have to consider other alternatives in its quest to generate more power.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t only rely on the same type of fuel as in oil and gas because we have issues with that. We can also look at coal, solar, thermal and using local fuels as in waste, biomass and so many of these other things that we can take advantage of. So those are things that if government should take a proper look at them, it will ease the pressure on us as a country.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/a>
Dr. Samiu Kwadwo Nuamah, Executive Director of AIES.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Below is the statement by AIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

AIES believes that utility price increases, though not desirable, are unavoidable in most cases. This is largely attributable to economic and other external factors. It is in this regard that the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) cannot be blamed for computing and announcing new tariffs which are obvious to any industry watcher. They were simply doing their job.<\/p>\n

Indeed in this instance, PURC should be lauded for the regulatory aptitude shown in working out the new tariffs. Based on the demands of the utility providers and pure economics, the adjustment could have been significantly higher than was announced.<\/p>\n

AIES asserts that the factors that led to the upwards adjustment lie outside the control of the PURC. These factors are issues of economic and policy ineptitude rather than regulation. These include the persistent weakness of the cedi against the dollar (which is used in procuring inputs by the utilities) and Ghana\u2019s poor and lopsided energy mix resulting from poor policymaking.<\/p>\n

This has led to increasing dependence on gas and other petroleum products whose intermittent availability lead to generational shortages with demand for energy far outstripping supply significantly. This ordinarily would have led to price surges but for the resilience of PURC.<\/p>\n

It is our recommendation that government urgently reviews Ghana\u2019s energy (generation) mix to include other cheaper and more reliable sources like coal and the renewables. Government should also pay greater attention to Ghana\u2019s huge hydroelectricity potential beyond Bui and the Volta.<\/p>\n

PURC could also do well to be more sensitive in their timing of such tariff hikes<\/p>\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.
\nDr. Samiu Kwadwo Nuamah, MCCE
\n–
\nBy: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The African Institute of Energy and Sustainability (AIES) says Ghanaians should not blame the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) for the recent utility tariff hikes. This was after the PURC approved a 59.2 and 67.2 percent increases in electricity and water respectively. Some political parties, labour unions and civil society groups have described the increment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":53262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[38,17],"yoast_head":"\nDon\u2019t blame PURC for utility price increases \u2013 AIES - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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