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0 By Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA
Accra, June 25, GNA – The Minority Caucus on the Energy Committee of Parliament has condemned the Public Utilities Regulatory (PURC) Commission’s 3.49 per cent increase in electricity tariffs for the third quarter of 2026, describing it as a “naked political decision” with no basis in economic logic.
At a press conference on June 22, 2026, the PURC announced the upward adjustment barely a month after reducing tariffs by 4.81 per cent in the second quarter of 2026.
Mr Collins Adomako-Mensah, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Energy Committee of Parliament, said the net effect of PURC’s reviews since January 2025 was a cumulative increment of 26.82 per cent on electricity prices.
Addressing a section of the media in Parliament House on Thursday, he said: “PURC justified the Q3 hike based on a 0.2 per cent depreciation of the Ghana Cedi against the US Dollar and a 1.58 per cent increase in natural gas costs.”
Mr Adomako-Mensah, also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Afigya Kwabre North, argued that the fundamentals did not support the increase.
“The cedi has actually appreciated by almost 40 per cent against the dollar since January 2025. Interest rates have reduced from 27 per cent to 23 per cent, and the cost of gas has dropped by 1.58 per cent,” he stated.
The Deputy Ranking Member added that Ghana’s power generation mix had remained unchanged between April and July 2026, questioning the basis for the new hike.
He, therefore warned that the increase would worsen the already burdened cost of electricity and hurt the competitiveness of Ghana’s industry and Small Meduim Enterprises (SMEs).
“When the NDC said they were going to introduce a 24-hour economy, Ghanaians thought they meant reliable and affordable power to ensure competitiveness and reduce cost of living. This latest tariff hike is another assault on Ghanaian industry and SMEs,” he said.
With Ghana no longer under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Credit Facility, Mr Adomako-Mensah said government could no longer blame external lenders for tariff adjustments.
“This is a tariff regime that has been determined by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the government owns every cedi increase.
“The power to increase or reduce tariffs is determined by government policy direction, and the buck stops with the government,” he stated.
He concluded with a warning: “You cannot keep increasing pressure on the top and hang the baskets of the people of Ghana to fetch water.”
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo
Reporter: Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA
[email protected]
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