PURC raises electricity and natural gas tariffs by 18.36%

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced an 18.36% increase in tariffs for both electricity and natural gas across all consumer groups.

The decision comes after a comprehensive review conducted for the second quarter of 2023.

According to a statement issued by the PURC, the decision was made with the aim of striking a balance between averting prolonged power outages and their detrimental impact on jobs and livelihoods, while also minimizing the burden of rate hikes on consumers.

The implementation of the Quarterly Tariff Review Mechanism serves the purpose of closely monitoring and incorporating changes in crucial factors that determine natural gas and electricity tariffs.

The PURC in the statement identified several factors as contributors to the latest tariff adjustment, including the fluctuating Ghana Cedis/US Dollar exchange rate, inflation, the composition of electricity generation sources, and the weighted average cost of natural gas (WACOG).

In clarifying the need for this review, the PURC emphasized the importance of maintaining the true value of the cost of utility services and ensuring that utility companies neither overcharge nor undercharge consumers. 

It said a failure to adequately recover costs can have adverse consequences on the companies' ability to provide reliable services, potentially leading to electricity outages. Conversely, excessive cost recovery places an unnecessary burden on electricity consumers.

This review has become necessary to maintain the real value of the cost of supply of the utility services and to ensure that the utility companies do not under or over-recover costs," the statement said.

“While under-recovery has negative implications for the ability of the companies to supply service to consumers, and has the potential of causing outages of electricity, over-recovery unnecessarily overburdens consumers of electricity."

Read the entire statement below;