Sunyani residents lament increase in electricity and water tariffs

Correspondence from Bono Region

Some residents in Sunyani, the Bono Regional capital are ruing the impact of the recent water and electricity tariffs increment by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).

The concern by the residents comes days after the increment of 4.22% and 1.18% in electricity and water tariffs across the board in the average end-user tariffs for non-lifeline residential consumers took effect on September 1, 2023.

According to the residents, they are already struggling to cope with the increased financial burden in a challenging economic environment so the recent increment will make matters worse for them.

Expressing their displeasure over the increment, they have appealed to the government to reconsider the decision as it would lead to a rising cost of living and further make life unbearable for them.

Nana Kwame Asamoah, a long-time resident of Sunyani, told GhanaWeb that many people are feeling the brunt of the increment because of the hard times we find ourselves in as a country.

"The increase in tariffs is making life hard for ordinary people like me to provide for our families. The cost of electricity and water has become unbearable, and we are feeling the pinch".

Eno Mary challenged the government to work on turning the country’s economic fortunes around before approving any future adjustment.

“We cannot pay our bills if times continue to be hard so I want the government to reconside such increases until the economy bounces back because we are suffering”.

Agya Oppong on his part accused the PURC of always siding with the utility providers despite the poor service delivery without taking into consideration the concerns and plight of the consumers.

“On so many occasions, all that we see is increment by the PURC without ensuring that the service providers provide quality services so I think any increment at this challenging time is unfortunate”.