PURC
THE PUBLIC Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) says it has approved a 11.17 tariff increase for recovery of total electricity revenue requirement for the regulated electricity market, effective July 1, 2019.
PURC made the announcement in a press release dated June 21, 2019 and signed by its Executive Secretary, Mami Dufie Ofori.
According to the release, in taking the decision, the Commission received and considered tariff proposals from stakeholders including the various utility service providers in the electricity and water sub sectors namely Volta River Authority, Ghana Grid Company Limited, Electricity Company of Ghana, Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited, Northern Electricity Distribution Company and Enclave Power Company Limited.
It said in line with the Commission’s regulatory oversight mandate, extensive technical and financial analyses of the proposals were undertaken.
The release indicated that the key objective of the tariff review was to sustain the financial viability of utility service providers as well as ensuring delivery of quality service to consumers.
It revealed that as a major policy shift aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of Ghanaian industries, the Commission has eliminated the Maximum Demand Charge on industrial customers (Special Load Tariff-SLT).
“It is expected that this policy will result in some SLT customers experiencing savings in their overall electricity,” according to the release.
It noted that “this 2019-2020 Major Tariff Review Decision is the outcome of prudent cost review and effective monitoring undertaken by the Commission. Details of the approved electricity tariffs and the rationale for the decision will be published on the Commission’s website.”
It would be recalled that in February2019, the Commission announced that the new electricity tariff would take effect from July 1, 2019, following a mandatory major tariff review consultations in January this year.
On February 27, 2019, the Commission issued a press statement explaining that its decision to postpone the announcement of the tariff to July was due to critical emerging issues in the sector which were expected to affect the final tariff setting.
Notable among the emerging issues cited were the planned relocation of the Karpowership Plant resulting in fuel switch savings from Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) to Natural Gas; anticipated reductions in .the price of natural gas due to ongoing negotiations by the government as the reason for the postponement.