AGI demands load shedding review to favour industry

The Association of Ghana Indus­tries (AGI) has asked for a review of the current elec­tricity structure to favour industry.

The current structure whereby industry subsi­dizes residential con­sumers erodes its competi­tiveness and is unaccept­able, according to association.

President of AGI, James Asare-Adjei who was speaking at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association said, "we will continue to advocate for priority to be given to industry when it comes to power rationing through our membership on the load management commit­tee at the Ministry of Power and other engage­ments with government."

Speaking on the theme, 'Patronizing made-in- Ghana goods to build strong industries,' he said that businesses have suf­fered severely as a result of the worsening energy crisis in the country, stating that Ghana has lost tremen­dously.

"Industrial output has been affected and worse of all investor confidence has also been negatively affect­ed," Asare-Adjei said.

He called for an urgent permanent solution to the energy crisis, advocating for the implementation of Strategic National Energy Plan (SNEP).

Tariff Adjustment

There are ongoing dis­cussions on tariff adjust­ment and AGI is negotiating on behalf of its mem­bers, he stated.

Mr. Asare-Adjei said the Public Utilities Regula­tory Commission (PURC) has always cited inflation, exchange rate and genera­tion mix as determinants for tariff adjustments under the Automatic Adjustment Formula.

However, AGI was of the view that such determi­nants that trigger tariff adjustment largely stem from the country's weak macro-economic fundamentals and inefficiencies of the utilities.

"It is therefore unfair to offload the consequences of such inefficiencies to industries," he said.

Mr. Asare-Adjei urged government to stay focused and work hard to improve the confidence level of the business con munity to guarantee further investment in the country's economy.