The Independent Power Producers (IPPs) have opposed the recent 1.52 percent reduction announced by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) on electricity tariffs.
The IPPs are of the view that the reduction is unacceptable.
According to them, the reduction would affect ECG’s debt restructuring efforts.
The President of the IPPs, Dr. Elikplim Apetorgbor claimed that the ECG will struggle to pay its debt.
“We are on life support and cannot guarantee continuity. If you give us a haircut, say a 30% or 40% reduction, who is going to pay our debts for us?”
“The debt in question is not our savings, it’s not our profit. So it is impossible to restructure it.”
But the PURC has justified the reduction explaning that inflation and a stable exchange rate were some of the factors that resulted in the 1.52 percent decrease in electricity tariffs effective December 1, 2023.
The Director of Research and Corporate Affairs, Dr. Eric Obutey indicated that “The downward review was necessitated by four factors: the generation mix, where we now use more hydro compared to thermal. Hydro now accounts for about 31.9%, and thermal is about 68%.”
“We have a downward trend in inflation, which has dipped by about 3.6%, and we also have fuel prices, which have gone down by about 5.9%. So if you put it all together, these factors necessitated the downward trend in electricity prices,” Dr. Eric Obutey added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
