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I have never been a fan of figures. The surest way to confuse me is to start quoting figures at me, especially percentages or fractions thereof. 
 

You would think it was bad enough to be asking us to pay so much more money but why complicate it with fractions of percentages? Electricity prices we are told, are going up by 59.2 per cent  and water prices  by 67.2 per cent.

And as you try to get your head around those figures, you are told that the increases come into effect, not at the beginning of the month but on December 14. We all make our money calculations on a monthly basis, and now the utility companies have been given the right to calculate the December charges on two different levels.   

Earlier this past week, I had felt justified about a lifetime of fear and loathing of figures and percentages when I heard the story about the fine imposed on the telecommunications company, MTN, by the Nigerian Federal government. It is an amazing story that tells you what a difference a little figure in percentage terms makes. This is the story without going into much detail; MTN was fined an astronomical figure of $5.2 Billion for SIM card infringements.

The company appealed and then announced that the regulatory body, Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC), had written to reduce the fine by 35 per cent and MTN would now have to pay a fine of $3.4billion. A day later, a new letter arrived to say there had been a mistake and MTN would have to pay a fine of $3.9billion. A spokesman for NCC attributed the mistake to “a typo”; there had been a typographical error. A typing mistake that amounted to a $500 million difference in the fine MTN had to pay.

 How were percentages arrived at?

Knowing that I am no good at figures and with this story of the typos and percentages in my mind, I approached the PURC statement with a lot of trepidation. What is wrong with increasing tariffs by a round figure so that the calculations can be done and understood by all? How did the PURC come by the figure of 59.2 per cent by which electricity tariffs should be increased, and the figure of 67.2 per cent increase for water tariff? I think we should be told. It is not enough to list the factors the Commission allegedly considered before approving the increments. 

According to the PURC, the power generators and distributors had asked for 128.6 per cent  and the water company had asked for 400.2 per cent. How did the utility providers come by these figures? Why do all the figures have fractions? Could it be that the water company could not survive with 400 per cent but must have a 0.2per cent  in addition? There surely must be some explanation for these fractions. I ask because I need to make my own calculations to help me decide how to share the raw anger that I feel about the increases we are being asked to pay. I certainly am not persuaded that the PURC considered my interests as a consumer in coming to their decision.

 PURC’s considerations

The PURC claims it considered the following factors before approving the increments : Consumer Interest; Investor Interest; Economic Development of the Country; The Generation Mix; Fuel Mix; Availability of the Service; Growth in Demand; Power Purchase Cost (IPP); Revenue Requirement (to ensure Financial Viability of the Utility Service Providers); Cedi Dollar Exchange Rate. 

It would be helpful if the PURC told us how they allocated the percentages to the various factors in the increments. For example, they could say Consumer Interest has attracted a rise of five per cent ; Investor Interest has been accorded a rise of 20 per cent; Economic Development of the Country attracts a rise of 2.7 per cent ; the Generation Mix and Fuel Mix attract 15 per cent.

If we have this breakdown, it would be easier to convince the population that these increases are reasonable. We might be able to ask questions about why the loss of hydro power has an effect in the build-up of prices and the dramatic decrease in the price of crude oil doesn’t affect utility prices.

While I am prepared to pay a certain percentage increase as a result of the loss of hydro power due to the fall in the level of the Akosombo Dam, I am not willing to pay anything for the Cedi Dollar Exchange rate problem cited by the PURC as one of the factors for the increment. The Cedi problem is entirely the making of the government and I should not have to pay for the inefficiency of the managers of the economy.  

 Low cost power leading to tariff  increase?

I had been watching in awe, the rigmarole of the power ship from Turkey for the past year. I heard the chief executive of the Karpowership say: “We will be delivering an uninterrupted, reliable supply of LOW COST POWER (caps mine for emphasis) to the Ghanaian grid very quickly in the coming weeks,”

He said the power ship would “be one of the lowest-cost power generators in the grid.” 

"With the use of low-cost fuel, the power ships will deliver a total cost of electricity into the grid that will enable a competitively priced tariff to deliver savings for the government," Now why would the addition of what has been sold to us as low cost power lead to a huge hike in tariff?

It is difficult enough trying to make ends meet in our country currently but to add insult to injury by suggesting that there is anything vaguely fair in these increases is to try our tolerance level beyond measure. It always helps if people are asked to make sacrifices and you can understand why; but when it seems someone is trying to pull a fast one on you, it is intolerable. 

I am not good at figures and therefore might not understand the calculations that go into making decisions about percentage increases in utility tariffs. But I am a reasonable woman. If I am told how in plain language how the figure of 400.2 per cent  was arrived at as the percentage increase needed to make the water company work and how that figure became 67.2 per cent and what percentage of efficiency I can expect if I pay that, I would understand.

If the procurement process for the fuel to power the barge were transparent, I might be more willing to pay an increase in tariff.

At the moment, I am afraid I feel I am being asked to pay for other people’s inefficiency and corruption being parcelled out as smart figures. I detest being thought of as a fool almost as much as I detest figures I don’t understand.