The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has declared there is no turning back on the 2026 to 2030 Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO), signalling a difficult season ahead for households and businesses across Ghana as electricity and water tariffs rise by 9.86 percent and 15.92 percent respectively.
At meetings with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) held on December 11 and 30, 2025, the Commission reaffirmed that reversing the tariff decision would threaten the stability of the energy and water sectors and weaken the broader economy. Any reversal of the tariff decision would have significant implications, not only for the Commission’s independence but crucially for the stability of the energy and water sectors and the broader Ghanaian economy, the PURC stated.
The new tariffs took effect on January 1, 2026, following months of investment hearings, stakeholder consultations and regional public forums. The Commission announced the adjustments on December 3, citing the need to support utility investment requirements and ensure reliable services while considering the living conditions of consumers.
On paper, the argument centers on sustainability and long term stability. On the ground, however, the impact is already being felt in workshops, factories, offices, and small shops across the country.
For many businesses, especially small and medium sized enterprises, electricity and water are not just utilities but lifelines. Power runs machines, preserves goods, supports digital services, and keeps doors open. Every increase in tariffs quietly chips away at already tight margins. For some, it means cutting back on staff hours. For others, it means passing costs on to customers who are themselves struggling to cope with rising living expenses.
Manufacturers feel the pressure most acutely. From powering machinery to maintaining cold storage and logistics, energy costs sit at the heart of production. Even modest increases can ripple through operations, slowing output or forcing difficult decisions about scale and staffing. For small producers and informal businesses operating with little financial cushion, the margin for error is almost nonexistent.
Service based businesses are not spared either. Hospitals, schools, hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets all depend heavily on reliable electricity and water. As utility bills rise, many are left choosing between raising prices, postponing investment, or compromising service quality, choices that ultimately affect consumers and economic confidence.
The PURC said the adjustments reflect investment needs of power utilities, projected generation inputs and macroeconomic indicators including inflation, the cedi to US dollar exchange rate and the cost of natural gas. The Commission projected a generation mix of 78.79 percent thermal power, 20.90 percent hydro and 0.31 percent renewables for 2026. The Weighted Average Cost of Gas is expected to rise to US$7.8749 per million British thermal units.
The approved exchange rate for the tariff period is 12.0067 Ghana cedis per US dollar, with an inflation benchmark of eight percent. These figures compare to a 2025 baseline exchange rate of 12.3715 cedis and inflation of 12.43 percent. The Commission said the water tariff adjustment was driven by production and sales projections, expected investment requirements and efforts to reduce non revenue water to approximately 43 percent over the period.
For residential electricity customers, lifeline consumers using between zero and 30 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month will see their tariff increase to 88.37 pesewas per kWh, up from 80.43 pesewas. Residential customers consuming zero to 300 kWh will now pay 200.22 pesewas per kWh, compared to the existing 182.24 pesewas. Those consuming 301 kWh and above will pay 264.56 pesewas per kWh, up from 240.81 pesewas.
The new tariffs will remain in place for five years but will be subject to quarterly reviews to account for variables beyond utility control, including fuel costs, exchange rate fluctuations and changes in the generation mix. The PURC said quarterly adjustments aim to preserve the real value of tariffs and maintain the financial viability of service providers.
Despite these realities, the PURC maintains that tariff stability is essential to preventing deeper structural problems in the energy and water sectors. According to the Commission, weakening the financial base of utility providers could lead to worsening outages, unreliable water supply, and a loss of investor confidence, outcomes that would hurt the economy even more in the long run.
Still, the human cost remains difficult to ignore. The Commission acknowledged labour concerns, noting that it had committed to addressing them during the next tariff review window. For many businesses, however, that assurance offers little comfort today, as they grapple with rising operational costs, currency pressures, and slowing consumer demand.
In a joint statement signed in Accra on December 30, 2025, by TUC Secretary General Joshua Ansah and PURC Executive Secretary Shafic Suleman, both parties highlighted the importance of ongoing dialogue to ensure tariff decisions balance affordability, electricity stability, water access, and economic growth for Ghanaian workers.
The TUC has said it will continue to monitor how the new tariffs affect wages and livelihoods and will engage the government on broader cost of living challenges. Yet for business owners across the country, the issue goes beyond wages or policy timelines.
The announcement has drawn mixed reactions from consumer groups and industry stakeholders. Some citizens who participated in public hearings earlier in 2025 expressed concern that higher tariffs would worsen the cost of living and strain household budgets at a time when food, transport and housing costs are already climbing.
The increases come at a particularly sensitive time as they follow a difficult 2025, during which electricity tariffs increased by a combined 18.34 percent, while water charges rose by 4.02 percent. The cumulative effect of successive tariff adjustments over recent years has intensified financial pressure on both households and businesses.
As part of reforms in the new MYTO, the PURC has also introduced a mini grid tariff system. This seeks to support electricity supply to island and remote communities by including their service costs in the Volta River Authority’s revenue requirements, aiming to expand national electricity access from the current 89 percent to full universal coverage.