Electricity tariffs can be reduced only if funds are available – IES

Several calls have been made by both individuals and groups for the reduction in electricity tariffs since President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced the waiver of water bills for the next three months.

But the Institute of Energy Security says the only way a reduction in electricity tariffs can be made, is if there are enough funds to cushion the revenue shortfall.

According to the Executive Director of the institute, Paa Kwesi Anamuah Sakyi, the requests must be thoroughly analyzed before a decision is taken.

“As such a time, you only seek for relief for your citizens. Given that we are getting money from the private sector as well as the Stabilization Fund, if it is enough, then we can consider reducing the price of electricity as well to ensure that the citizens have some form of relief. We need to have this money available to fill the gap,” he said in an interview with Citi News

Mr Sakyi added that if government goes ahead to reduce electricity tariff without the needed funds being available, the power sector will suffer in future.

“So it is a good call but we should be mindful of how to fill the gap. For us at IES, the reliable consistent power supply is more key than to have a reduced price of a commodity and not making it available and so we should consider that in the equation,” he said.

In his fifth address to the nation on the Coronavirus pandemic, President Akufo-Addo announced that government will take care of water bill for Ghanaians for April, May and June 2020.

He also assured that there will be uninterrupted power supply in the country during this period.

But several groups and individuals are asking for a reduction in electricity tariffs to ease the financial burden on Ghanaians.

Commending government for the relief from water tariffs, Former President John Dramani Mahama in a statement suggested that “a subsidy payment from the Stabilization Fund to the ECG and other generating companies can provide some temporary relief, however small, to consumers in this difficult period.”

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) also believes a waiver on electricity bills will help cushion Ghanaians against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.