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The Head of Communications at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Ali Simon Jarana, has said Ghanaians should expect an increase in tariffs in July this year.

According to him, this is due to a lot of factors which includes exchange rate linked with the importation of chlorine for water treatment and the importation of copper and steel by NEDCo.

Speaking on the back of a proposed tariff increment by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), he said inflation and regulatory benchmark target amount other are factors that call for an increase in tariffs.

“There are a lot of factors that go into tariff determination. One is the interest of the consumer that is provided for by the Act that established PURC; the second is the interest of the investor community; third, we have regulatory benchmarks that the utilities must also meet. We are also looking at some microeconomic indicators i.e inflation, we are looking at exchange rate, exchange rate because of their equipment, they import them. GWCL for instance, import chlorine to treat the water, NEDCo will import Copper, and steel.” 3news.com quoted

“Ghanaians should expect a review in tariffs in July, that I can assure you.” He added

Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have proposed a 148% increase in tariff from August 2022.

A proposal from the power distributor submitted to the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), wants the adjustment to cover the period 2019 and 2022.

The ECG however recommended an engagement with the PURC on the determination of the defined threshold for a lower tariff for non-residential or commercial customers.

Also, the Ghana Water Company Limited has also proposed an increase in tariffs to enable it recover its costs.