We won’t attend PURC’s stakeholder engagement aimed at discussing utility tariff increment — NPP

NPP General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has announced that it will not participate in a stakeholder engagement organized by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to discuss proposed increases in utility tariffs.

The hearing, scheduled as part of the 2025–2029 Multi-Year Tariff Review process, seeks to brief stakeholders on proposals submitted by regulated utility companies, including the Volta River Authority (VRA), GRIDCo, ECG, NEDCo, Ghana Water Limited (GWL), Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC), and Enclave Power Company (EPC).

In a statement issued on Monday, October 6, and signed by its General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, the NPP said it finds no justification for any engagement on tariff adjustments at a time when Ghanaians are already struggling with the high cost of living.

“The NPP shall not attend the said stakeholder engagements because the Party does not see any justification for any engagement on possible utility tariff increment at this moment when Ghanaians are already overburdened by rising cost of living occasioned largely by government’s introduction of new taxes including the new energy sector levy popularly known as ‘Dumsor Levy’,” the statement said.

The opposition party argued that the recently introduced “Dumsor Levy,” which it claims generates over GH¢575 million monthly and GH¢5.7 billion annually, should be enough to support the operations of the country’s utility providers rather than passing additional costs onto consumers.

The party also dismissed claims that the planned tariff increment is linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionality as part of the $3 billion bailout signed by the Akufo-Addo-led government.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the current IMF programme is scheduled to end next year (2026), but the proposed astronomical increment in tariffs is expected to take effect from 2026 to 2029,” the statement argued.