Ghanaians may be paying more for electricity after the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) announces new tariffs in February.
The Chairman of the PURC Technical Sub-Committee, Ishmael Edjekumhene, said the major tariff review to be implemented by the Utility Service Providers will be announced just in time for it to take effect in February.
“The cost of supplying services to them is cheaper than they are paying now, but it cannot be done suddenly and we need to transition… The announcement would have to come before the end of February to take effect from February,” he told Citi News.
At a public hearing on Monday, the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), argued for a 95 percent increment in its charges while the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDco) requested for almost 40 percent hike in distribution charges.
This comes as the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is set to cede its distribution function to another company, Power Distribution Ghana Limited, effective next February.
The ECG is pushing for an upward review of its tariff to enable it to undertake more expansion works.
Due to the concession arrangement of ECG, the company will only concern itself with selling and export of bulk power, while concessionaire will take up the function of distribution.
According to the company, in 2018 it undertook a number of expansion works, especially in the Ashanti Region, where it spent about $120 million to ensure reliable power supply for its customers.
The ECG is therefore asking for 23Gp per kilowatt hour (23p/kWh) for its tariff for this year.
Residential customers per the new tariff cuts enjoyed 17.5 percent reduction, while non-residential customers saw tariffs cut by 30 percent.
The Northern Electricity Distribution Company had been complaining of losses noting that its struggles started even before the review in 2018.
The company has proposed a 43 pesewas/kWh rate to enable it to raise enough revenue to meet the cost of production
It also explained that about 90 per cent of its customers were under the residential category and as such it was not making as much revenue as the ECG, which has significantly more commercial consumers.
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Source: Citinewsroom.com | Ghana
