Benjamin Nsiah, Executive Director for the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE), has criticised the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), accusing the body of a lack of transparency regarding its tariff adjustment predictions.
He argued that the PURC has not been forthcoming with the Ghanaian public concerning the specific percentage increases announced in recent tariffs.
These comments come as a cross-section of the public raises concerns over rapidly depleting credit and high utility bills—even as the cedi stabilises and inflation remains in the single digits.
When questioned about the disconnect between economic indicators and utility costs, Mr Nsiah pointed to a lack of institutional integrity.
“The disconnect is that the PURC are not being truthful with respect to how they predict these tariffs. They are not very trustworthy. They always sing the songs of the utility companies and [are] not representing the interest of Ghanaians, and that is very bad on their part,” Nsiah stated.
He further questioned the oversight of the commission, noting, “The Act that establishes them puts them under the presidency because we know that being under the presidency means that they will have the people at heart and think about their struggles. But for us to have a regulatory body under the presidency that churns out unbalanced figures… then we need to take a relook at their activities.”
Billing vs. Tariffs
Mr Nsiah clarified that while the PURC sets the rates, individual consumer bills are influenced by various factors.
He noted that high bills aren’t always a result of tariff hikes but can stem from changes in consumer behaviour or technical issues.
“Billing is different from tariffs; in terms of billing, your bills may increase when you have new gadgets or the regular use of power or consumption has increased. The reason why the bills are increased may not be due to the tariff increment. It could also be due to faulty meters,” he noted.
A new report released by CEMSE suggests that Ghanaian electricity consumers may have overpaid approximately GH¢1.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. The report attributes this massive overpayment to “inflated exchange rate and inflation assumptions” used by the regulator during tariff calculations.
According to the CEMSE review, the economic data used to justify the previous rates did not align with the actual market conditions. Consequently, the report suggests that a double-digit tariff reduction—potentially as high as 11%—may be warranted for the first quarter of 2026 to reflect the prevailing economic climate.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
