Source: newsthemegh.com
Ghanaians will start paying more for electricity and water starting today, June 1, 2023, as the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURC) announced an increase.
Increased prices for water, electricity, and natural gas were announced by PURC last month.
In a statement, the Commission (PURC) defended its choice to change prices in the second quarter of 2023.
The commission claims that the change is necessary to maintain the operations of the many businesses involved in the generation and distribution of power.
“The second quarter tariff decision of 18.36% for electricity helps to fully recover 100% of the inflationary effect, 100% of the gas price effect, and 50% of the exchange rate effect,” the commission stated in a statement.
The decision to increase water rates for the second quarter of 2023 was made, according to PURC, based on a number of criteria.
The price of power, rising costs for the chemicals used to purify raw water, the exchange rate between the Ghana Cedi and the US Dollar, inflation, and the cost of electricity are some of these variables.
The Quarterly Tariff Review Mechanism aims to keep track on and take into account changes to the major variables that affect the prices of natural gas and electricity.
The weighted average cost of natural gas (WACOG), inflation, the mix of sources used to generate electricity, and the Ghana Cedis/US Dollar exchange rate were all cited by the PURC as having an impact on the most recent increase.
“To maintain the genuine value of the cost of providing utility services and to make sure that the utility companies do not under- or over-recover costs, this review has become required.
“While under-recovery has detrimental effects on the businesses’ ability to provide service to customers and the potential to result in power outages, over-recovery unduly overburdens electricity users.