At a press conference, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Maame Dufie Ofori, said the depreciation of the cedi to the dollar, projected inflation rate and increasing electricity and water demands have necessitated the increment.<br /> The PURC last Friday approved an 11.17% tariff increase for electricity from July 1. The PURC approved the increase after considering proposals from the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited, the Northern Distribution Company (NEDCo) and Enclave Power Company Limited (EPC). Tariff proposals for water also came from these stakeholders.<br /><br />“In line with the commission’s regulatory oversight mandate, extensive technical and financial analysis of the proposals were undertaken,” Mrs. Ofori said.<br /><br />“The key objective of the tariff review was to sustain the financial viability of the utility service providers as well as ensuring the delivery of quality service to consumers,” she explained.
Two highly placed sources involved in the negotiation and setting of the tariffs confided in the Daily Graphic that while electricity tariffs would go up by between 10 and 12 per cent, those of water would be increased by less than 10 per cent. The increases would be across the board for both residential and commercial consumers throughout the country, according to one of the sources, who was not authorised to speak on the matter. “It will be less than 12 per cent for electricity for both residential and industrial users and less than 10 per cent for water across the country,” it said. <br /><b>Negotiation with PDS</b><br />While admitting that the announcement of new utility tariffs had delayed by about six months, the source said the tariffs that would be announced today would not take retrospective effect but become operational from July 1. “We are not going back because there was an understanding that the PURC has been working with Power Distribution Services (PDS) when it took over from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on April 1, this year, and all those have now been factored into the new tariffs,” it explained. The new tariffs will replace those that were announced and took effect in March 2018. <b><br />Reason for increases<br /></b>The source explained that but for the renegotiation of gas prices, which reduced the cost of gas used to generate power, and the relocation of the Karpowership from Tema in the Greater Accra Region to Atuabo in the Western Region, the tariff increment for electricity would have been higher than planned. “With the movement of the Karpowership from Tema to Atuabo, they will cut the fuel intake by almost 50 per cent and that is why they are able to make these savings and bring the tariffs down,” it said. The relocation of the power ship is scheduled to take place in August this year and it will make it possible for the power generation vessel to switch from the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) to generate electricity to natural gas. <br /><b>Cause of delay</b><br />When asked why the PURC delayed in announcing the new tariffs, one of the sources said negotiations between the commission and the PDS stretched more than anticipated. “They wanted to finish the negotiations that they were doing and with that the only effect on the tariffs will now be foreign exchange and other operational costs,” it added. As of press time yesterday, it was understood that the Ministry of Energy was meeting utility providers in the power sector over the new tariffs due to be announced today. <br /><b>Gas prices<br /></b>In a proposal submitted to the PURC in November last year, the ECG, whose core mandate has now been transferred to PDS, requested for an average tariff increase of about 37 per cent to enable it to make up for the increasing cost of production. The Executive Director of the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) said his outfit was reliably informed that electricity tariffs were originally planned to go up by 30 per cent but it was later reduced after successful renegotiations of power purchase agreements (PPAs) and the price of gas. He said the renegotiation saw gas prices dropping from around $8 per metric million British Thermal Unit (MMTBu) to about $6.8MMTBu. He also mentioned the proposed relocation of the Karpowership, which will allow for a switch in fuel consumed, as another major development that influenced the tariffs on electricity that the PURC would be announcing. The commission, which regulates the provision of utility services in the country, is mandated by the PURC Act (1997), Act 538, to set tariffs for water, electricity and the transportation of natural gas.
The aim of the NASIRA programme is to create 800,000 jobs and boost access to finance for people such as migrants, the youth and women who usually struggle to access funds. It targets portfolios consisting of loans to youth, females and migrant entrepreneurs (including refugees, returnees and internally displaced people) and the goal of these guarantees is to allow local banks to provide loans to groups they normally perceive as too risky. Speaking at a lecture on Africa-Europe Alliance, which was organised by the Council of Foreign Relations Ghana, the EU Commission Vice President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, Mr Jyrki Katainen, said “this tool is for you. The local banks in Ghana will benefit from this guarantee and it will allow them to invest in some of the cutting-edge ideas that would otherwise be too risky for them to support.”<br /><br /> <b>Access to electricity<br /></b>He said the EU Commission was also looking at supporting the government’s efforts to boost access to electricity and ensuring affordability as one of the pillars of a rapid response action plan to improve the business environment. In this regard, he said the commission sought to support with its guarantees as it did with grants. “Our guarantee tools aimed at boosting access to renewable energy and its affordable prices in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana, will amount to €450 million. Through the guarantee tool with the European Investment Bank, French Development Agency (AFD) and German Development Bank (KfW), we plan to provide independent power producers with the necessary liquidity to cover their financing gaps in case their off-takers delay payments,” he explained. He said all those support through the guarantees were aimed at strengthening micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and private sector development, which are the anchor of Ghana’s economy. “We will promote gender equality, empowerment of women and young people. Through this alliance and its innovative approach in terms of investment, we want to give you the tools that you can turn into innovative solutions. It is for you to become ‘William Kamkwamba’- the Malawian boy who harnessed the wind and provided electricity to his village. That’s how you start shaping the future and we are here to support you,” he stated. <b><br />Africa-Europe Alliance </b><br /> He said both Africa and Europe were in exciting times, yet challenges such as precarious jobs, inequalities and climate change still remained. “We need to grasp the challenges and turn them into opportunities. The problem of lack of fixed telephone lines in Africa a few years back was turned into an opportunity, with mobile phone penetration in Africa reaching record high levels.” To adapt to a rapidly changing global context and emerging challenges, he said the EU recently launched an Africa-Europe Alliance for sustainable investment and jobs. He said the alliance would take the partnership to the next level, shift the paradigm and go beyond a traditional development aid based one.“We are putting the private sector right in the centre of this partnership as it holds the largest potential for generating jobs and sustainable growth. We need to unlock more responsible private investment in Africa and in Ghana,” he stated.