Kwabena Donkor Can�t Increase Tariff - PURC

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has downplayed remarks made by Power Minister, Dr. Kwabena Donkor that consumers should embrace themselves for realistic tariff.

Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen Friday, Communications Director of the Commission, Nana Yaa Jantuah says her commission is the only outfit to decide on realistic tariff and not the Power Ministry.

“It is not in the position of Dr. Kwabena Donkor and his ministry to decide whether we should embrace ourselves for realistic tariff or not and so I find it hard to understand why he (Kwabena Donkor) be emphatic about the tariff adjustment” she stated.

Dr Kwabena Donkor at a stakeholders’ meeting on local content for the power sector in Takoradi on Thursday urged consumers of electricity to brace themselves for realistic tariffs because cheap power from hydro will no longer be available.

He said the only way to sustain the business of power generation was to produce power above the cost of generation in order to break even.

Dr Donkor observed that it would be difficult to sustain energy generation, transmission and distribution if power was produced and sold at a loss.

“To generate power, the country buys light crude and gas at the international market price and pays in dollars, yet billing is done in cedis” he said.

But Nana Yaa Jantuah said PURC is an independent organization and therefore do not decide on tariff with government, since they work with realistic figures.

Nana Yaa Jantuah who claims to have no idea what the realistic tariff indicated that leaders of the commission are in a crisis meeting to determine the right tariff for its consumers.

“We have not met with Kwabena Donkor and so we don’t know where the information comes from. We are independent and so we don’t work with government. We will communicate with the public when we are ready,” she insisted.