There will not be any increase in utility tariff anytime soon, at least not before the end of May 2013, thus according to Moses Asaga, a Member of the Board and Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
This information is contrary to recent media reports that the Commission has given an approval for the utility providers, particularly the VRA and ECG to increase tariff on energy.
In an interview with The Business Analyst Asaga who?s committee is responsible for considering and recommending the approval of the adjustments in utility tariff or otherwise said the Commission is still collating views from stakeholders for consideration.
According to Asaga, a nationwide consultation exercise has begun to collate the views of all involved. This is to enable the PURC tally the challenges of consumers as against that of the utility providers to be able to make a determination in the national interest. He said the Commission has just finished its hearing of the case of the utility providers and is about to consult the public in a nationwide exercise before deciding on a final decision.
?We are aware of the challenges facing utility consumers in the country, we are also aware of the various challenges facing the utility companies which is what is causing them to underperform. We have to listen to all sides to be able to take a decision.? Moses Asaga stated.
He was however emphatic that until the consultation process is complete there will not be any increment in utility tariff, adding that their decision is not expected till late May.
Last month, the Volta River Authority (VRA) in a presentation to Parliament hinted it has tabled a proposal before the PURC for tariff adjustments.
The Authority said an increase in tariffs is one of the surest ways of raising revenue to supplement government’s funding and to help solve the power crisis the country is currently experiencing.
But the regulatory body said at the time that it was not in the position to grant the increases because of the ongoing power rationing in the country.
In a recently interview, Head of Corporate Communications at the Ministry of Energy Edward Bawa confirmed that the government has been engaging the public in consultations aimed at justifying the need for tariff adjustments.
?Government is talking seriously with PURC?and there have been public consultations with major stake holders where the utilities are trying to demonstrate what the key issues are?and the reasons why there must be tariff adjustment?.
He said the PURC has requested the Utility Companies to submit details of their investment needs to facilitate computation of the realistic tariffs.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Energy and Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has charged the management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to effectively manage the load shedding timetable to ensure the equitable distribution of available power and enable customers to plan the use of their share of the power.
He also urged the employees to strive harder to reduce the system losses through power theft from the current level to more acceptable levels since the revenue was needed to ensure that ECG was properly resourced to discharge its duties.
The Minister was speaking at the 10th National Best Employee Awards ceremony of ECG where once again assured that government was working diligently to address the current challenges facing the power sector. He advised the workers to go all out in recouping what was owed them by customers.
?My consolation is in the fact that you are evolving an enduring system to improve upon the quality of service delivery to the citizenry which must translate into tangible improvement in the service to the customer,? he said.
He commended management of ECG, Volta River Authority (VRA) and GRIDCo for instituting performance management procedures as a measure of ensuring individual responsibility and corporate advancement to transform the work culture of these utilities.
Source:?Jeorge Wilson Kingson (The Busisness Analyst)
