Speaking at a public forum on Thursday, April 8, 2021, the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana, Kwame Agyeman-Badu said the company needed additional funds to operate efficiently in its mandate hence, proposes an increment in electricity tariffs.
The proposed increment will only take effect after approval by the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC).
“If we get the increase we will love it [but] that will be up to the PURC because, no matter what we propose, they will ultimately decide,” Kwame Agyeman-Badu said.
“In terms of distribution, we need support because we have to do upgrades to make sure the system is sustainable. We don’t wait till something is broken before we fix it. We need additional funds to upgrade our systems at all times,” he further added.
Meanwhile, the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) wants to engage the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on the rationale behind the increment of electricity tariffs.
“We will be engaging subsequently to see how much they need and whether those demands are justified and whether improving their own systems could be the solution rather than an increment in the tariffs,” said the Executive Director of ACEP.
“If they are able to sell power and raise the needed financing, then they can be able to pay the value chain; GRIDCo and the generators,” he further added.
As to the percentage point by which the tariff will be increased is unclear but should it be approved, the question remains will the increment be a burden to Ghanaians.
The current power outages
Currently, the country is experiencing intermittent power outages which ACEP has blamed on the country’s failure to upgrade transmission infrastructure and improve revenue collection and management.
According to ACEP, to resolve the current challenges, there must be significant investments in the expansion and upgrade of transmission systems.
“The recent nationwide system collapse is a wake-up call for the needed investments,” ACEP said.
“Ongoing upgrade-work should be expedited to relieve power consumers of the frequent outages and low voltage currently being experienced,” ACEP further noted.
