Minority urges PURC to reverse electricity and water tariff increases

The Minority in Parliament has criticised the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission's (PURC) decision to increase electricity and water tariffs, arguing that current economic and sector conditions should have resulted in lower charges for consumers.

The comments follow the PURC's announcement that electricity tariffs will rise by 3.49% and water tariffs by 0.85% from 1 July under its third-quarter tariff review.

In a statement issued on 22 June, the Commission said the adjustments were made in line with its mandate to review utility tariffs every quarter, taking into account developments within the energy and water sectors.

However, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament's Energy Committee, Collins Adomako-Mensah, questioned the justification for the increases, saying the figures did not support an upward adjustment.

Speaking to Citi News, Mr Adomako-Mensah argued that recent developments, including movements in key tariff-setting indicators, should have led to a reduction in utility charges.

According to him, the Minority had expected tariffs to fall by about 6%.

"How does just a change of exchange rate of 0.2 per cent push you to increase electricity by close to 4 per cent? It just does not add up. And I'm surprised that PURC is doing this to us," he said.

He warned that the latest increases would place additional pressure on households and businesses already facing rising living and operating costs.

Mr Adomako-Mensah also claimed that electricity tariffs had risen significantly over the past 18 months, estimating cumulative increases since January 2025 at 31.69%.

"It was just the first and second quarters of this year that they reduced it by four per cent. Even that, we challenged that. This particular increment, based on the figures that we've seen, does not make mathematical sense to me at all," he added.

The Minority is calling on the PURC to review the latest tariff adjustments, insisting that consumers should be benefiting from lower utility costs rather than facing further increases.

The PURC has maintained that the quarterly review mechanism is intended to ensure tariffs reflect prevailing operational and economic conditions within the utility sector.