The Greater Accra branch of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce has kicked against proposals from some service providers for tariff increment.
The Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG, and the Ghana Water Company Limited, GWCL, are requesting an upward adjustment of 148 percent and 338 percent respectively.
At an engagement under the auspices of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, PURC, the Vice Chairman of the Accra branch, Imran Shams Kwakye, pushed for a reduction in the proposed margin due to the impact it would have on businesses.
“Every day, wherever you go, commercial energy is cheaper than domestic, but on our side of the world, it is rather the opposite,” he complained.
He also noted that the health of industries was key to job creation.
Mr. Kwakye complained further that the utility companies were focusing too much on profits.
“Our attitude is too much profiteering, and you don’t care what happens to your neighbor. So we should consider a percentage that will be realistic for us to consider accepting it as a country,” he said.
The Electricity Company of Ghana had proposed that its tariffs be increased by 148% for 2022 and with 7.6% average adjustments between the periods of 2023 to 2026.
The proposed sharp increment, according to ECG, is due to the gap between the actual cost recovery tariff and PURC-approved tariffs as well as the cost of completed projects.
The Ghana Water Company, in a similar document, is also proposing an increment in its tariffs to be able to at least recover its operational cost.
The GWCL argues that while the average tariff per cubic metre in 2019 was 1.27 USD, the same was reduced to USD 1.13 as a result of cedi depreciation.
The GWCL argues that this has affected its ability to carry out repairs and replacements of aged and obsolete equipment and pipelines.