I’ll Reduce Electricity Tariffs – Akufo-Addo

New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo has emphatically stated he will reduce electricity tariffs if he wins power.

In a terse statement to the media Thursday, the three-time presidential candidate of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition noted: “I think it is important for there to be clarity on this matter. If the government cannot or will not listen to the calls for the reduction of electricity tariffs, it is important for the people of Ghana to know that, God-willing, if I win the elections of this year, I definitely will.”

He stressed: “I will definitely reduce electricity tariffs.”

The former Foreign Affairs Minister has been pushing for a reduction in electricity tariffs recently following the detection of anomalies in the billing process. The Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission has directed the Electricity Company of Ghana to suspend its new billing software until the glitch is resolved.

“I have taken notice of today’s statement made by the PURC that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) should suspend its billing system. I think the matter is more fundamental and should go further than that,” Nana Addo waded into the issue right after the regulatory body issued a statement.

“If you look at the rates we are charging, industry, as well as domestic users, for electricity in Ghana, compared, for instance, to Cote d’Ivoire, already, it puts our enterprises in a very uncompetitive comparison.

“In Ghana, my understanding is that the tariff for commercial users is 32 US cents/kilowatt hour. The Ivorian equivalent is 13 US cents/kilowatt hour. Again, for domestic users, we are talking about 19.28 US cents/kilowatt hour, when Cote d’Ivoire equivalent is a tariff of 9 US cents/kilowatt hour.”

ECG has been given a 10-day ultimatum to resolve the anomalies.

Credit : Starr