Electricity and water consumers will enjoy tariff reductions from April 1 this year, following the quarterly review of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).

The review has reduced electricity tariffs by 4.81 per cent and water by 3.06 per cent across the board for all customers for the second quarter of the year.

The commission, for the first time, introduced a commercial Electric Vehicle (EV) charging tariff to promote green energy transition.

A statement signed by the Executive Secretary of the PURC, Dr Shafic Suleman, and issued yesterday, said the adjustments were carried out in line with the commission’s mandate to review tariffs quarterly to reflect developments within the quarter.

“The quarterly reviews track and incorporate movements in key factors for which their variability affects the operations of utility service providers (USPs).

“These factors are the exchange rate between the Ghana cedi and the United States dollar, domestic inflation rate, electricity generation mix, and the cost of fuel — mainly natural gas — to power the thermal plants,” the statement said. 

Real tariffs value

The statement added that the quarterly adjustments were undertaken by the commission to maintain the real value of the tariffs, which would equip the utility service providers to be financially viable to serve their customers, given  the impact of these tariffs on consumers in general.

“Having carefully analysed the aforementioned existing parameters, the commission wishes to announce a downward adjustment in electricity tariffs of an average reduction of 4.81 per cent and a 3.06 per cent reduction in water tariffs,” Dr Suleman said.

Factors under consideration

The commission applied a projected weighted average cedi-dollar exchange rate of GH¢11.1931 to $1 for the second quarter of 2026.

It said the projected exchange rate was based on a three-month actual inter-bank average cedi-dollar selling exchange rate for the period December 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026, which showed a 6.78 per cent reduction from the last quarter rate of GH¢12.0067 to $1.

The statement said the commission also used a three-month (December 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026) average inflation rate of 4.17 per cent for the second quarter of 2026, which indicated a downward review of 47.87 per cent from the previous quarter.

“The commission applied a weighted average cost of gas price of $8.0988 per one million British Thermal Units (MMBtu), indicating an upward adjustment of 2.84 per cent from the previous rate of $7.8749/MMBtu.

“The projected hydro-thermal generation mix for the quarter under review remained the same at 20.90 per cent from hydro generation and 79.10 per cent from Thermal generation as applied in the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) of 2025,” he said.

The statement expressed the commission’s gratitude to all stakeholders for their support as it continued to implement the quarterly tariff reviews per its rate setting guidelines to address changes in operational conditions of the service providers.

“The commission will continue to monitor operations of the regulated service providers and to hold them accountable to its regulatory standards and benchmarks to ensure value for money and improved quality of service delivery,” it added.