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Director of Communications for the Volta River Authority (VRA), Sam Fletcher says for the past decade, Ghanaians have never paid the correct electricity tariffs and that has led to both the VRA and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) not being able to meet its side of the bargain by efficiently generating and supplying power to consumers. According to Mr. Fletcher, the VRA lost one billion Ghana cedis last year as a result of high operational cost resulting from the use of crude oil rather than gas for its production. �For more than 10 years, Ghanaians have never paid the correct tariff, they don�t pay realistic tariffs and it is about time somebody told that truth to everybody. For more than 10 years they don�t pay realistic tariff. �The price consumers are paying now was calculated based on the cost of gas production. If gas is sold for hundred (100), crude oil is sold for two hundred (200)�we at (VRA) now use crude oil instead of gas� so the cost of production has doubled. Therefore they (consumers) should pay double of what they are paying now. Somebody should explain to them,� he explained. The VRA wants major tariff reviews to be carried out every two years and quarterly adjustments made to account for changing crude oil prices, currency fluctuations and other parameters. According to the VRA, considering the volumes of crude oil it purchases, a small change in the price of crude oil could result in a huge disparity between income and expenditure. �For example, a $1 increase in crude oil price could lead to a cost increase of between $1 million to $3 million in a quarter�This trend has adversely affected VRA�s balance sheet and ability to fund or attract funding for our expansion projects,� a document provided by the VRA at a meeting with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy in Parliament states. The VRA Communications Director also added that the suggested upward adjustment of electricity tariffs will in no way be unfair to Ghanaians as his outfit deserves the revenue which will be derived from the increased tariffs because the company was not reaping the necessary benefits of its production and supply of energy to the Ghanaians. He stressed that it makes little business sense for VRA to continue selling electricity at a price lower than the cost of production. Whiles admitting that a chunk of the company�s debt is due to government�s inability to settle its outstanding arrears, Sam Fletcher pointed out that as VRA makes efforts to retrieve its debt, it is incumbent on consumers to also pay realistic prices in order to solve the current power crisis in the country. Meanwhile, the VRA has presented a proposal which includes a new tariff increment to the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) for consideration and acceptance. It has projected a loss of 1.1 billion Ghana cedis this year if the PURC does not increase tariffs. If the proposal is accepted by the Regulatory Commission, electricity tariffs may go up to about 80 percent. The last time tariffs were increased was in September 2011. At the time, the cost of production of electricity was markedly lower due to the availability of gas. Speaking to King Edward in an interview on HELLO FM in Kumasi, Mr. Samuel Kwesi Fletcher revealed that the VRA has indeed presented a bid to the PURC to review tariffs upwards. �We (VRA) can just propose to the PURC in case there is a need for an adjustment. After that we are not responsible for the tariff increment, it is the duty of the Utility and Regulatory Commission obligation to decide whether to increase tariffs or not. So if someone says VRA is responsible for that then it�s out of the context,� he said. Mr Fletcher declined to disclose to the public the exact amount VRA proposed to the PURC as tariff increment. ��the VRA has every right to make proposal for tariff adjustment, but I cannot and would not say how much we are asking for,� he said.