A survey conducted by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in the Republic of Ghana has revealed that 58 per cent of electricity consumers across the country do not expect an upward review of electricity tariffs while 53 per cent also expect no increment in water tariffs.
The survey sampled views of a total of 851 categories of consumers across the 16 regions of Ghana.
The income levels of the respondents ranged from below GHS2,000 and above GHS5,000.
According to the findings of the survey posted on the official Facebook page of the PURC, 50 per cent of the respondents earned monthly incomes less than Gh¢2,000 while 17 per cent earned between Gh¢3,000 and Gh¢4,000.
The findings also showed that only nine per cent of the respondents earned a monthly income of over Gh¢5,000.
The findings revealed that 55 per cent of the respondents were of the view that the prevailing electricity tariffs were high, with only four per cent indicating that the tariffs were low.
It also revealed that 42 per cent of the respondents rated the prevailing tariffs as fair while 44 per cent indicated that the tariff does not commensurate with the quality of service received from the electric utilities, citing frequent voltage fluctuations and poor customer service delivery among others.
Interestingly, the findings also showed that residential customer respondents requested a 21 per cent reduction in their monthly expenditure on electricity tariffs.
For water consumers, the findings revealed that 53 per cent of the respondents did not expect any adjustment in water tariffs while 50 per cent of the respondents indicated that the current water tariffs are not justified given the poor service delivery in the form of frequent water supply interruptions.
The survey also revealed that two per cent of the respondents rated water tariffs as low while residential customer respondents indicated that they would not be boarded if water tariffs are increased by 26 per cent.
The electricity and water utilities are demanding an upward review of their tariffs with the view of raising revenues to make the necessary investments to render quality services to consumers.
The Southern Electricity Distribution Company, ECG, is demanding a 148 per cent increment for their distribution service charge from Ghp16.109/kWh to Ghp39.95 /kWh while NEDCo is demanding a 113 per cent increment in their distribution service charge from Ghp31.503/kWh to Ghp35.63/kWh.
State power producer, VRA, is demanding 37 per cent from Ghp28.227/kWh to Ghp38.687/kWh while GRIDCo is demanding 48 per cent.
Southern Electricity Distribution Company, ECG, is demanding a 148 per cent increment for their distribution service charge from Ghp16.109/kWh to Ghp39.95 /kWh while NEDCo is demanding a 113 per cent increment in their distribution service charge from Ghp31.503/kWh to Ghp35.63/kWh.
State power producer, VRA, is demanding 37 per cent from Ghp28.227/kWh to Ghp38.687/kWh while GRIDCo is demanding 48 per cent from Ghp6.042/kWh to Ghp8.918/kWh.
Enclave Power Company is also demanding 38 per cent from Ghp31.530/kWh to Ghp43.30/kWh.
Meanwhile, Ghana Water Company is asking for 300 per cent in tariffs from Ghs7.2/M3 to Ghs28.2/M3.
The PURC has held Public Hearing Multi-Year Major Tariff Review (2022-2027) and is expected to announce how much consumers should be paying for electricity and water in July 2022.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com