Minority members of Parliament’s committee of Mines and Energy have accused the Electricity Company of Ghana for charging an unapproved fee without the verification of the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC).
Speaking to the Media in Parliament, the former deputy Minister of Power, John Jinapor, alleged that the ECG has increased electricity tariff by 33 percent without going to PURC for approval.
According to the Yapei Kusawgu MP legislator, after an analysis he made through a document ECG had presented to parliament, he realized that an amount of 33ps has been added to the approved fees by PURC making it 52.7ps.
“PURC gave a composite figure of 42.9 pesewas per kilowatt hour. However, just recently, the Electricity Company of Ghana, laid their work-plan before Parliament, which is also mandatory. When I checked and did the analysis, I realized that this amount has been increased by 33% to an amount of 52.7 Ghana pesewas per kilowatt hour.”
“It means there is a 33 percent increment in the composite bulk generation tariff which ultimately is passed onto you the consumer. When I inquired, the reason was that the IPPs claimed that they charge in dollar terms, and so when the cedi depreciates, they want to pass it on, but I maintain that it is illegal.”
Responding to the claims, the chairman for the Mines and Energy committee, Emmanuel Kwasi Gyamfi, described it as mischievous.
He said the PURC only requested proposals from the ECG ahead of the next tariff increase.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
