News
PURC Set To Commence New Quarterly Tariff Review In January
According to Dr. Eric Obutey, the Public Regulatory Utility Commission’s director of research and corporate affairs, the quarterly tariff review/adjustment (QTR) process will start in January 2023.
On December 19, 2022, the PURC said that even though the QTR will be unveiled this week, it will go into force the next year.
The soon-to-be-announced rates will span from January 1, 2023, until the end of March 2023, according to Obutey, who indicated in an interview that the quarterly tariff increases will last three months.
“Every three months, we will make adjustments to the tariffs we announced in August this year… Currently, we are doing a quarterly tariff adjustment, which is supposed to take effect from the 1st of January to the end of March 2023. That is what we are working on currently,” he emphasized.
He went on to list the factors that affect how the quarterly tariffs are adjusted. In light of that, he iterated as follows:
“The adjustment that we do, the variable we consider include the exchange rate, the US dollar against the Ghana cedi; we use inflation rate also, and we also use the inflation rate, that is between the thermal and hydro and also fuel prices. Those are the exogenous variables we consider.”
Meanwhile, Robert Saka Addo, the principal manager of PURC, added that the goal of the new QTR model is to lessen the effects of uncontrolled elements, such as the cost of natural gas, electricity, and water service, while also ensuring the delivery of high-quality utilities.
Meanwhile, a 27.15% increase in energy rates and a 21.55% increase in water rates were announced by the PURC in August and went into effect on September 1, 2022.
As a matter of fact, utility corporations, notably the Ghana Water Company Limited and the Electricity Company of Ghana, have previously proposed tariff increases of 148% and 334%, respectively.
Conclusion
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