PURC keeps electricity and water tariffs unchanged for fourth quarter of 2026

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced that electricity and water tariffs will remain unchanged for the fourth quarter of 2026.

The Commission said the existing third-quarter tariffs will remain in force at the same rates, representing a 0 per cent adjustment, effective October 1, 2026.

The decision follows the PURC’s quarterly tariff review, which considers developments in key economic and operational variables affecting the cost of utility services.

According to the Commission, the reviews are intended to maintain the real value of existing tariffs and support the financial viability of utility providers while taking consumers’ welfare into account.

The PURC said it considered the Ghana cedi-US dollar exchange rate, domestic inflation, the electricity generation mix and fuel costs, particularly natural gas used to power thermal plants.

For the fourth quarter, the Commission applied a weighted average exchange rate of GH¢11.5646 to US$1, compared with GH¢11.2228 to US$1 in the third quarter.

This represents a 3.04 per cent depreciation of the cedi against the US dollar based on the rates applied in the two quarters.

The Commission also applied an average annual inflation rate of 4.97 per cent, up from 3.43 per cent in the previous quarter.

The applicable weighted average cost of gas was set at US$7.8379 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), down 1.67 per cent from US$7.9708/MMBtu in the third quarter.

On electricity generation, the PURC said projected generation from hydro sources would increase from 20.90 per cent in the third quarter to 24.25 per cent in the fourth quarter.

Projected thermal generation, meanwhile, is expected to decline from 79.10 per cent to 75.75 per cent.

The PURC said the combined effect of the generation mix, exchange rate, inflation and natural gas prices did not warrant an adjustment to electricity tariffs for the fourth quarter.

As a result, all customer categories will continue to pay the rates that have applied since the third quarter.

These include residential lifeline, other residential, non-residential and special load tariff customers.

Water tariffs will also remain unchanged during the fourth quarter.

The existing rates will continue to apply to residential and non-residential customers, as well as commercial users, sachet and bottled water producers, drinks producers, industrial users, public institutions, public standpipes, ports and harbours and bulk supply customers.

The Commission said it would continue monitoring the performance of regulated utility providers to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and benchmarks.

It said the monitoring is intended to promote value for money and improvements in the quality of service provided to consumers.

The PURC said the decision will be published in the Gazette in due course and made available on its website.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.