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Company News from Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Source: dailyguideafrica.com
2019-01-16
Dir. Customer Services, ECG, Ign Jones Ofori-Addo (right) and Exec. Dry PURC, Mami Dufie Ofori
The Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) said it was eagerly awaiting a drop in electricity tariffs in Ghana following the takeover of the Ghana Electricity Company (ECG) on next month by Power Distribution Services (PDS).
This goes against the call by the National Minority National Congress (NDC) to Ghanaians to prepare for a 60% increase in the electricity tariff when PDS will take control of 39, ECG 1 February 2019.
Energy minority spokesman Adams Mutawakilu told the media that because of ECG's debt of around GHG 2 billion, the PDS would have to raise its rates to survive. .
But in an interview with BUISINESS GUIDE Monday in Accra on the sidelines of a stakeholder engagement for utilities to submit their tariff proposals, a PURC commissioner, Ishmael Edjekumhene, wondered why the minority made such predictions .
According to him, should there be an increase in electricity tariffs, this should be due to the high production costs and not the claims presented by the NDC.
He said: "Because they (PDS) are new and come to Ghana for the first time, we told them that as regulators, the only cost we know of is the cost of the ECG. So that will be the starting point. "
According to him, "they have proposals and, as the ECG presenter said, they claim 23 royalties from Pesewas per kwh. "So, I do not know where people got this idea that since the PDS arrives, tariffs will increase by a certain margin."
Mr Edjekumhene said that PDS was committed to doing better than the ECG.
PDS has subscribed to some agreements, including winning $ 100 million and reducing ECG losses by one or two percent a year, he said, noting that such an agreement should result in a reduction of electricity tariffs.
"We expect the quality of service to improve, we think that there will be more efficiency and that it should ultimately reduce costs."
In a presentation, an ECG electricity economist, Emmanuel Baiden, said that the ECG should now focus on the wholesale supply of electricity and the export of this product to neighboring countries, as well as retailing or distribution of electricity, noting that the PDS would be responsible for distribution.
New rates
The Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) proposed that its 2018 charge of 0.30755 GH ¢ be increased this year to 0.430526 kwh, while Enclave Power Company Limited proposed 26 pesewas per kwh.
Ghana Water Company Limited has not made any tariff adjustments.
Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has proposed that its tariff be increased from 2,5107 to 4,897 Gp / kWh, and that its market operations manager, Kofi Owiredu, baderts that this amount would ensure the proper operation of GRIDCo.
Earlier, Edjekumhene said new rates for the various utilities should be announced by the end of January to come into effect on February 1, 2019.
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