‘There was a need to increase it’ – PURC justifies 18.36% hike on electricity tariff

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has justified an 18.36 per cent increment in electricity and natural gas.

On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, PURC announced that it has raised the average end-user tariff for electricity by 18.36 per cent for the second quarter of 2023, adding on to an almost 30 per cent increase in the first quarter. According to the Commission, the decision was informed by the findings of its Quarterly Tariff Review meeting for the second quarter of the year 2023.

The commission attributed the recent hike to the depreciation of the cedi, inflation, the electricity generation mix, and the weighted average cost of natural gas.

Speaking to the media, Dr. Eric Obutey, the Director of Research and Cooperate Affairs at PURC indicated that the Commission was compelled by the current economic conditions of the state to increase the electricity tariff.

He explained, “You cannot blame the people who do the increases because they want to make sure they continue to produce, that is why, I don’t want to blame the PURC but the inability of the government to maintain a good economic leverage that will give the Ghanaian the capability of paying off without these troubles we are going through.”

EAN/BB