By Evans Worlanyo Ameamu, GNA
Keta (VR), Dec 4, GNA-Residents in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region have expressed concern over the newly proposed tariffs on water and electricity by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
The proposed increase in electricity tariffs was 9.86 per cent, while water tariffs were set to rise by 15.92 per cent over the next five years starting in January 2026.
Madam Dziedzorm Abla Dzivenu, a resident of Abor, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, lamented about the potential impact of the tariffs on their lives and cited the existing challenges with water and electricity supply in the municipality.
“My brother, do you remember the Ghana Water Company has recently announced the closure of a water plant at Agordome, which led to poor water flow, while intermittent power supply is also affecting businesses,” she said.
She said that the level of water supply in the municipality was poor which has affected many businesses and called on the PURC to help mitigate the challenges faced before the increments for all to have reliable and constant use of water without any hindrance.
She also demanded for a 24-hour daily and constant electricity power supply before the tariff increase takes effect and expressed worry about the impact on businesses, which were already struggling financially through intermittent power supply by the Electricity Company of Ghana in the area.
“Can you imagine that the power goes off three or four times daily in Keta Municipality here, l doesn’t know how the situation is at other places, but we are pleading with the authorities to give us stable power before they think of tariff increment.”
Mr Jasper Kumedzro, another resident, also stated that it would be heartbreaking and an unfortunate situation for PURC to increase tariff on water and electricity, while they supply was ineffective, adding that, “how can PURC increase tariff on something they do not constantly supply, they need to understand our situation.”
He said that households were suffering while businesses were on the verge of collapse and appealed to the government to intervene immediately to solve the pressing water and electricity supply challenges to curb the numerous plights in the area.
Meanwhile, the PURC in their released has stated that the tariff review was necessary to support utility companies’ investments in infrastructure and services, accounting for inflation, exchange rates, and fuel costs while the review would also introduce mini-grid tariffs to improve electricity access in island and remote communities.
The PURC has also announced that quarterly tariff adjustments would continue to reflect changes in external factors like exchange rates, inflation, and fuel prices, while in previous reviews, PURC increased electricity tariffs by 14.75 per cent and water tariffs by 4.02 per cent in April 2025 which they cited under-recovery of revenues by utility companies.
The increase in tariffs is also expected to affect all categories of customers, with the PURC urging utility companies to meet their revenue collection benchmark of 98 per cent and has emphasised the need for utility companies to improve their services and efficiency to justify the tariff increases.
However, the move has sparked concerned about the affordability of basic services particularly for vulnerable households who have appealed to the government to help provide support to low-income households and small businesses to help them cope with the increased tariffs.
They said that the impact of the tariffs on the broader economy was also concerned with potential effects on inflation and economic growth.
Meanwhile, the residents of Keta were of the hope that the government would intervene to mitigate the impact of the proposed tariffs and constant supply of water and electricity to avert their challenges.
GNA
Edited by: Maxwell Awumah/Kenneth Odeng Adade