A former deputy Minister of Power under the erstwhile Mahama administration, Mr John Jinapor has tasked Ghanaians to fight against the electricity tariff increase which takes effect on 1 July 2019.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Yapei Kusawgu Constituency stated that the increment does not in any way reflect the conditions on the ground.

Speaking in an interview on ClassFM, Mr. Jinapor stated that: “The Minority and well-meaning Ghanaians must resist this increment because this increment is not reflective of the variable conditions persisting on the ground”.

He added that in the 2019 budget presented to parliament, “We’ve given approval that the gas that will be consumed by the utilities, Ghanaians should pay for that; more than a $100 million, and then you turn around again and say that we should pay more tariffs. I think that that is not justified and, so, clearly, there is an attempt to hoodwink Ghanaians and we shall resist this”.

Mr Jinapor said: “The people of Ghana cannot go through this suffering” because the tariff hike will place an unnecessary burden on citizens.

He further explained that: “Even with the residential consumers, there are bands; when the PURC is announcing a tariff increase, what they do is through a Gazette. The Gazette will tell us the various customer bands and the increase. This sweeping, categorised and wholesale blanket statement will not wash”.

The PURC an announcement of the increment in a statement on Friday, 21 June 2019 signed by the Executive Secretary, Mrs Mami Dufie Ofori,.

The statement said: “In taking the above decision, the Commission has received and considered tariff proposals from stakeholders including the Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Power Distribution Service Ghana Limited (PDS), Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) and Enclave Power Company Limited.

The Commission said in line with its regulatory oversight mandate, “extensive technical and financial analysis of the proposals were undertaken”, adding that: “The key objective of the tariff review was to sustain the financial viability of utility service providers as well as ensure delivery of quality service to customers”.

“As a major policy shift aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the Ghanaian industry”, the Commission it has “eliminated the maximum demand charged on industrial customers (Special Load Tariff customers)”, adding: “It is expected that this policy will result in some SLT customers experiencing savings in their overall electricity bills”.