Government must come clean about electricity tariff reduction – ACEP

Energy Policy Think Tank, the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) wants government to come clean about its pledge to reduce electricity tariffs.

Residential and non-residential electricity consumers in the country are said to enjoy a 13% reduction in tariff beginning January next year, Finance minister Ken Ofori Atta announced in Parliament during the 2018 budget presentation Wednesday.

Additionally, other composite charges in the tariff build-up of electricity have been reduced by the government.

The reductions in electricity tariff as contained in the 2018 budget are; Residential – Up to 13%, Non Residential – 13%, Special Load Tariff- Low Voltage – 13% ,Special Load Tariff -Medium Voltage – 11%, Special Load Tariff -High Voltage – 14%, High Voltage Mines – 21%.

But the Executive Director of ACEP, Benjamin Boakye has asked government to clarify the details that informed the proposed reduction in the electricity tariffs.

“Tariffs in Ghana are extremely high and ought to come down, but the fundamentals will have to be checked to ensure that we are not going to put the institutions in distress. We know that the losses are high so you have to put some mechanisms in place to reduce the losses so we can pass on the relief to consumers. We haven’t seen that happen immediately and so we don’t know how that reduction is going to come about. It will be good to see what is informing reduction at this point'.

"If it’s out of some negotiations they have had with the generators to cut down some cost and therefore, they are able to pass on that relief to consumers, that will be good news. But we now know the numbers of a quantum of reduction that is going to come but we don’t know how that reduction is coming about. And that is what is important for Analysts like us so that we can interrogate the numbers and project where the implications are on the sector.” he told Accra-based Citi FM.