Provide Reasons for Utility Tariff Reduction—IES to PURC

The Institute of Energy Security (IES) has called on the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to come clear on its basis for arriving at its decision to reduce utility tariffs by up to 30 percent.

According to the IES, although the decision is welcoming, it comes as a surprise, especially, as the commission’s ‘Draft 2018 Major Electricity and Water Tariff Review Results and Explanatory Notes’ indicated a 12.54%reduction.

A statement from the IES to Citi Business News said “While the Institute for Energy Security (IES) welcomes the decision of the PURC which is good news for consumers, we are however cautious to celebrate this milestone considering the demands made by the Utility Service Providers (USPs) and also government’s own estimate of 14% reduction”.

“We urge the PURC to make public its findings and the basis for arriving at this decision for interrogation and further scrutiny. It is particularly important we know the position of the USPs whether or not they agree with the conclusions of the PURC,” it added.

Speaking to Citi Business News, Principal Research Analyst at the IES, Richmond Rockson urged the PURC to make its findings clear to Ghanaians to avert any misunderstandings.

“If your draft report is saying that you are expecting a reduction of 12.54% and finally it is released at as high as 30%, that is more than double of what your report says. So we are just asking the PURC to be able to publish or gazette how it arrived at this decision so that we can all interrogate and arrive at one conclusion whether or not it was informed by good analysis” Mr. Rockson stressed.

Meanwhile, the release further called on the Ministry of Energy to address issues of taxes even in the wake of the reduction made by the PURC.

“We call on government, through the Ministry of Energy, to address the issue of subsidies and taxes in the tariff structure in the wake of this announcement. In our considered opinion, if gains have been made which warrants a reduction, it is important we take a second look at subsidies which have huge repercussions on government revenue. It is also important government considers the VAT/NHIL of 17.5% on electricity tariffs”.

Source: Citibusinessnews