Suspend tariffs - PNC

THE People’s National Convention (PNC) has called on the government to suspend the utility tariff increases and instead adopt measures to ensure efficiency in the operations of utility companies.

"It is our firm belief that a lot of savings would be achieved with a little prudence in the administration of the entire energy and water sectors in the country and the increases may not be necessary at all", it said.


A statement issued by the PNC in Accra and signed by Mr T. F. Bitie-Ketting for its Publicity Committee said the increment would further worsen the already fragile industrial base "as the high tariffs would force most factories to close down, thus throwing more workers out of their livelihood".


The statement recalled that in June this year a statement by the Energy Minister, Mr Albert Kan Dapaah, called on the electricity service providers to accept that they have failed the nation by their poor services and added that "by increasing electricity tariffs after identifying this problem, the government is rather trying to treat the symptoms of a disease instead of attacking the disease itself".


"At the moment, the Volta River Authority estimates that Ghana's power consumption for the year 2002 would be in the region of 8575GWH and out of this figure, hydro sources would provide 4950WH (about 58 per cent) while thermal and other sources would account for the remaining 3625WH (about 42 per cent.


"The Takoradi Thermal Plant, with a capacity of 550MW, is consuming an amount of $180 million annually in crude oil in order to provide this amount of electricity. Thus an amount of ?12.15 billion would be needed to run the plant every month", it added.


The statement wondered whether "our energy planners were only interested in building a power plant for building sake, without regard to the running costs involved".

''The total investment in the thermal plant plus the annual cost of $180 million in crude oil to power the plant should bring us very close to the cost involved in the construction of the Bui Hydro Electric Dam at ($1500/KW) a much cheaper source, and the construction of which was started by the PNP under Dr Hilla Liman but later abandoned by the P(NDC) of Jerry Rawlings after the 31st December 1981 coup".


According to the statement, the current energy crisis and the attendant high tariffs would not have arisen if the Bui Hydro Electric project had not been discontinued.


It said the government, by inference, has not only accepted the recommendations of the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), " buthas come to defend the PURC by reminding Ghanaians of the legal authority of the commission to set tariffs without subject to any direction or control under Act 538 of 1997".


It said by this action the government has added yet another burden to an already over-burdened society, adding that this action "has also negated the anticipated gains or hopes of the rural electrification programme since most rural communities would not be able to afford the high electricity bills".


"The President has also virtually shot himself in the foot since his own textile and garments initiative would be adversely affected", it said.