The former Member of Parliament for Damongo, Adam Mutawakilu has stated that the proposed tariff increase by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is unacceptable.
The Managing Director of ECG, Kwame Agyeman-Budu has suggested an increase in tariff to support the company’s operational activities.
According to him, ECG needs more funds to function properly and effectively.
The Managing Director of the company opined he is aware that the proposal will only materialize after approval from the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC).
“We need money to do it [improve]. If we get the increase we will love it [but] that will be up to the PURC because, no matter what we propose, they will ultimately decide.
“In terms of distribution, we need support, because we have to do upgrades to make sure the system is sustainable. We don’t wait till something is broken before we fix it. We need additional funds to upgrade our systems at all times,” he added.
Currently, lifeline consumers who are classified as poor and low-income earners pay GH¢16 for the power consumed and extra GH¢2.13 as service charge, making it a total of about GH¢18.
But Adam Mutawakilu said the ECG has not demonstrated its capacity to manage its resources hence there is no justification to increase tariff.
In an interview on Accra-based Citi FM, he said “How much of our monies are being lost? If that is not tackled, then we are wasting our time on this. They are just taking money from Ghanaians and wasting it. Technical and commercial losses alone are over 25% and that means that for every 100 million that ECG is expected to collect, they can’t account for 25 million of it. So if we only concentrate on increasing tariff without reducing technical and commercial losses, we will come back to square one.”
