Dr Anthony Yaw Baah
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on government to undertake full-scale review of the existing Power Purchase Agreements to ensure that Ghana gets value for money.
It also tasked government to ensure that Ghanaians are not overburdened by excessive tariff increases.
According to the TUC, utility companies were demanding cost reflective tariffs.
It called on the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) to ensure that unjustifiable costs are not passed on to consumers.
“The resistance to tariff is due, partly, to the fact that consumers are paying for inefficiencies of utility companies, especially costs arising from political decisions that had only served the interest of some political elites.
“We believe that tariffs can be reduced by 20 percent or by a higher percentage given the negative impact of the existing (high) tariffs on economic activities and on living standards of consumers. We think a significant reduction in tariffs is justified when we take into consideration the generally low incomes in the country.”
It revealed that it was wrong for government to use the power sector as a direct revenue-generating source.
“Many Ghanaians are either receiving low incomes or are without any regular income. Therefore, it will be wrong to subject the utility sector to profiteering. The TUC expects government to scrap all the levies and taxes on electricity as a means of improving access and making it affordable to all Ghanaians in all parts of the country.”
It therefore called on government to develop comprehensive policy direction to promote renewable energy in Ghana.
Commenting on the Teshie Desalination Plant, he said the facility was contributing to the debt burden of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) that affects water tariff generally.
“We would like to add our voice to all those who are calling for the abrogation of the contract. The people of Teshie and the surrounding communities should be provided with water from alternative sources.
It is particularly important to ensure that buildings are designed to reduce the use of air conditioners.
The TUC further called for reclassification of existing tariffs to consider the plight of people who could best be described as energy poor in order not to worsen the plight of lifeline consumers.
By Samuel Boadi