AGI cries over new utility tariffs

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has described the extent of utility tariff increments for water and electrical energy by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) as too excessive for business to bear, notably at the moment.

It argued that although utility corporations must get better prices to maintain their operations, the impact of the utility tariff improve might be dire for each business and the utility corporations.

Within a interval of lower than six months, electrical energy tariffs have shot up considerably on two events, 26.6% in September 2022 and 29.9% for this quarter, totaling 56.5%.

“Indeed, the elements of the cross-subsidy are still embedded in our tariff structure and this current review does not seem to support PURC’s effort to correct this anomaly. We, therefore, urge the PURC to expedite action towards the full reversal of the tariff structure in support of Government’s Industrial Transformation Agenda,” it said.

“We notice a 48% increment in water tariffs for Industry. This is not bearable, and which is a significant deviation from the 8% average increment as announced. Water tariffs shot up by an average of 21% in the last review in September 2022. The aggregate is a 69% increment in less than six months for Industry. We are anxious to see the conclusion of our discussions with the PURC on water tariffs for our beverage companies,” it added.

According to AGI, industries have been beneath stress from an unstable enterprise surroundings, coupled with a lot uncertainty since final 12 months, noting “hoping to see signs of recovery this year, the situation is further worsened by the level of increment of utility tariffs which poses a serious threat to employment prospects and the survival of businesses.”

It urged authorities to make sure environment friendly utility infrastructure and logistics administration to additionally save price in these tough instances, including, “we expect government to control macroeconomic instability, a major trigger and driver for such sudden changes in tariffs levels and price hikes. We look forward to engaging with the PURC in the coming days.”