Presidential Staffer, Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah, has assured that consumers will not bear the brunt of inefficiencies by utility companies as the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) reviews new tariff proposals.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, September 13, 2025, Nana Yaa, who previously served as Director of Public Affairs at the PURC, explained that losses beyond the industry benchmark cannot be transferred to the public through tariff adjustments.
“For instance, there is a benchmark loss of 21%. Depending on your system, it ranges between 15%–21%. In some areas where systems are well developed, the benchmark loss is 10%. This benchmark loss is factored into the tariff. Anything beyond that is your loss. You cannot pass it on,” she clarified.
According to her, some utility providers currently exceed the 21% benchmark, but the excess cannot be absorbed into consumer bills. She added that government intends to push utilities to further reduce the benchmark losses by introducing mechanisms that enforce efficiency.
Nana Yaa urged the public to remain calm as tariff computations are subjected to averaging, which she said moderates the eventual burden on consumers.
“Just let us see what the calculations will be. There is an average end-user tariff—that is what you’ll pay. So if they have all these figures as their increases, when you do the average, it will not come near to that,” she explained.
She further encouraged households to be prudent in their energy consumption, stressing that tariff bands reward efficiency.
“Sometimes you see, somebody is doing per kilowatt hour of electricity let’s say 9 pesewas. If the person is asking for 100%, it is 18 pesewas. There are bands in there for you to be prudent with your electricity. Because if you are prudent with your electricity, certainly you will pay less,” she said.
The PURC is currently considering proposals from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and other utility providers, some of which seek significant hikes over the 2025–2029 tariff period.
