Utility Consumers Kick Against Tariffs Review


Consumers of electricity and water in the Ashanti region, including some traditional leaders have kicked against the requests by the utility providers for upward adjustment in their respective tariffs.

At a heavily patronized consultative public forum on the proposal at the GNAT Hall in Kumasi, the utility consumers gave various reasons why they do not agree to the suggested increment in the electricity and water tariffs. 

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, PURC told participants at the forum that its final decision on the proposal will be influenced by the views from the consumers.

The Kumasi stakeholder’s consultative forum is the second in the series of a nationwide public for a planned by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, PURC, which is the legal body mandated to regulate the provision of public utilities, basically water and electricity to the Ghanaian public. 

By so doing, the PURC has the responsibility to balance the interests of both the service providers and the consuming public such that the service providers can remain in business while the consumers get the best of service and are not in any way short-changed.
 
The Kumasi forum was well attended by members of identifiable groups including the Ghana Barbers and Barbering Shop Owners Association, Ghana Beauticians Association, Association of Ghana Industries as well as traditional leaders. 

The nation-wide stakeholders consultative for a has been occasioned by new joint proposals by the Volta River Authority, V.R.A., Ghana Grid Company, GridCo, Electricity Company of Ghana, E.C.G. and the Ghana Water Company Limited, G.W.C.L. for an upward adjustment of their respective tariffs. 

Altogether, the three power providers are asking the PURC to allow them to increase their tariffs from the present 44 Pesewas to 100 Pesewas or One Ghana Cedi representing more than one hundred percent increase. 
For their part, the G.W.C.L. is requesting the PURC to review the company’s tariff from One Ghana Cedi 78 Pesewas to four Ghana Cedis.

These proposed adjustments, according to the companies, are to help them to remain in business to continue to provide quality services to the consuming public. In presentations by their respective officials, all the companies sought to persuade the consumers with what they claim to have done with the previous adjustments which they said was in 2013. 

They also explained to the consumers what they seek to apply the increased funds for. They took turns to make power point presentations to justify the need for tariffs upward reviews. 

First was the Principal Financial Analyst of the V.R.A., Mr. Joseph Adoko. Mr. Ebenezer Baiden of the E.C.G. in particular stressed on the benefits that Ashanti region in particular stands to gain from an efficient and well-resourced electricity provider. 

He said already, the region has benefited from its second bulk supply station at Anwomaso, eight Sub-stations and many Customer Call Centers all at huge cost to the company.

When he took his turn, Nana Yaw Barimah Barnie of the G.W.C.L. noted that high operational cost resulting from high cost of electricity, increasing cost of purification as well as the depreciation of the national currency.

Notwithstanding these, the company requires 25 billion Dollars to hit its target of achieving a 100 percent water coverage to all Ghanaians by the year 20125. 

There is therefore the need for Ghanaians to accept to pay more for the company to meet the increasing water demand.

When it was time for the participants to respond to the tariffs proposal increase, the consumers were virtually unanimous in their concerns; that is they are tired of the PURC always asking them to pay more for the utilities while their income levels remain unchanged coupled with poor services.


GBC