PURC pegs revenue requirement for second quarter at GHS6.81 billion

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has set the revenue requirement for the second quarter at GHS6.81 billion. This projection represents an increase of GHS1.14 billion over the first quarter's revenue requirement for 2024, which was projected at a total revenue requirement of GHS5.67 billion. The PURC also announced an increase in the cost of electricity and water tariffs starting from July 1 to September 30, 2024. The Commission has announced a 3.45% increase in electricity tariffs for lifeline consumers (0-30kWh) and a 5.84% increase for all other residential consumers outside the lifeline category. In a statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, dated Friday, May 31, the Commission stated that it plans to recover GHS5.90 billion of the GHS6.81 billion required for the second quarter. The statement read, "The total revenue requirement for the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) for the first quarter of 2024 amounted to GHS5.67 billion. In the second quarter, the revenu e requirement is projected to be GHS6.81 billion. This will result in an increase of GHS1.14 billion over the first quarter revenue requirement. The Commission, however, decided to recover GHS5.90 billion of the GHS6.81 billion required for the second quarter." "This decision was taken by the Commission, taking into consideration the revenue collection performance of the sector, since continuous increases in tariffs have not yielded the corresponding increase in revenue collection by the utilities to cover sector expenditure. In addition, the Commission considered the negative effect of passing on the entire revenue required in one tranche to customers. Thus, the difference of GHS906.21 million will be recovered in subsequent quarters," it added. Source: Ghana Web