PURC increases end-user electricity tariff by 18.36% effective June 1

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced an 18.36% increase in end-user electricity tariffs for the second quarter of 2023.

The tariff hike will take effect on June 1, 2023.

In a press statement released today, May 17, the PURC said the tariff review "has become necessary to maintain the real value of cost of supply of the utility services and to ensure that the utility companies do not under or over recover costs."

The PURC added that "while under recovery has negative implications for the ability of the companies to supply service to consumers, and has the potential of causing outages of electricity, over-recovery unnecessarily overburdens consumers of electricity."

The tariff increase was attributed to changes in key variables like the Ghana cedi-dollar exchange rate, inflation, the weighted average cost of gas, and the electricity generation mix.

According to the Regulatory Commission, "the net effect of the Ghana Cedi/US Dollar exchange rate, inflation, WACOG and electricity generation mix is that the utility companies are under-recovering and require an upward adjustment of their rates in order to keep the lights on."

However, the release said it was "very mindful of the current economic circumstances" and sought to "balance prevention of extended power outages and its adverse implications on jobs and livelihoods while minimizing the impact of rate increases on consumers."

The statement explained that "the Commission decided, after extensive deliberations and analysis, to increase the average end-user tariff for electricity by 18.36% across board for all customer groups."

The PURC urged all stakeholders to continue supporting its efforts to implement quarterly tariff reviews in line with its rate-setting guidelines.

Find a full copy of the release below: