The Minority in Parliament has strongly opposed the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) proposed tariff adjustments.
This follows an upward review of electricity and water tariffs announced by the PURC on Monday, June 22, with consumers set to pay more for utility services from July 1, 2026.
Under the Commission’s third-quarter tariff review, electricity tariffs have been increased by 3.49 per cent across the board, while water tariffs have been adjusted upward by 0.85 per cent.
In a statement issued on Monday, June 22, PURC said the adjustments were made in line with its mandate to undertake quarterly tariff reviews to reflect changes in key operational factors affecting utility service providers.
But speaking to Citi News, the Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako-Mensah, said recent improvements within the utility sector should have paved the way for a reduction in tariffs rather than an increase.
He said the Minority had expected utility tariffs to be reduced by about 6 per cent.
The lawmaker argued that the proposed upward adjustment would place an additional burden on consumers and effectively shortchange households and businesses already grappling with economic challenges.
“How does just a change of exchange rate of 0.2% push you to increase electricity by close to 4%? It just does not add up. And I’m surprised that PURC is doing this to us. I’m totally surprised. Cumulatively, they’ve increased electricity by 31.69% from January 2025 to date.
“It was just the first and second quarters of this year that they reduced it by 4%. Even that, we challenge that. I’m surprised that PURC is doing this to the Ghanaian people. This particular increment, based on the figures that we’ve seen, does not make mathematical sense to me at all,” he said.
The Minority further argued that the proposed tariff adjustment contradicts reports that quarterly increases in utility tariffs were part of the IMF programme agreement entered into under the Akufo-Addo administration.
