“Bear with us as we take difficult but necessary decisions” – Energy Minister on utility tariff hikes

Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, has asked Ghanaians to be patient. He said the government is making tough decisions to end dumsor, or erratic power supply.

Jinapor was quoted by JOY NEWS saying, “Bear with us as we take difficult but necessary decisions for stable energy.” His comments followed the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) announcement about tariff adjustments.

The PURC stated that electricity tariffs will rise by an average of 14.75%. Water tariffs will increase by 4.02%. These new rates will take effect on May 3, 2025.

The commission explained that these adjustments are due to several factors. These include the exchange rate between the Ghanaian cedi and US dollar, inflation projections, and fuel costs.

Additionally, the PURC needs to recover GHS976 million in outstanding revenue from previous quarters in 2024. The remaining amount will be spread over subsequent quarters in 2025.

Meanwhile, Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPEC, warned against these tariff hikes. He said industry players would resist any upward adjustment of utility tariffs. Amoah called the recent increases unjustifiable and unreasonable.