The Minority in Parliament has criticised the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) decision to increase electricity and water tariffs, arguing that current economic conditions should have led to lower utility costs rather than higher charges.
The criticism follows PURC’s announcement that electricity tariffs will rise by 3.49 per cent and water tariffs by 0.85 per cent from July 1, 2026, as part of its third-quarter tariff review.
In an interview, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako-Mensah, questioned the basis for the increases, stating that the figures cited by the regulator do not justify the adjustments. He argued that recent improvements in key economic indicators and developments within the energy sector should have resulted in tariff reductions rather than hikes.
Adomako-Mensah also expressed concern over what he described as the cumulative increase in electricity tariffs since January 2025, insisting that the latest adjustment places additional financial pressure on households and businesses already grappling with the high cost of living.
PURC has maintained that the tariff adjustments were made in line with its mandate to conduct quarterly reviews based on factors such as exchange rate movements, inflation, fuel costs, and the electricity generation mix. However, the Minority contends that the latest increases are not supported by the available data and has called into question the rationale behind the review mechanism.