The Minority in Parliament has criticised the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) over its decision to increase electricity and water tariffs, arguing that recent developments in the utility sector should rather have led to a reduction in charges for consumers.
The concerns follow the PURC’s announcement of new utility tariffs, which are expected to take effect from July 1, 2026.
Under the Commission’s third-quarter tariff review, electricity tariffs have been increased by 3.49 per cent, while water tariffs have gone up by 0.85 per cent.
In a statement issued on June 22, the PURC explained that the adjustments were made in line with its mandate to review tariffs quarterly to reflect prevailing economic conditions within each period.
However, the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako-Mensah, questioned the rationale behind the increments, insisting that current indicators should have resulted in a tariff reduction rather than an increase.
According to him, the Minority had expected a reduction of about six per cent in utility tariffs.
Speaking to Citi News, he argued that the latest adjustments would worsen the financial burden on households and businesses already grappling with economic pressures.
“How does just a change of exchange rate of 0.2 per cent push you to increase electricity by close to 4 per cent? It just does not add up. And I’m surprised that PURC is doing this to us,” he said.
He further noted that electricity tariffs have seen significant increases over the past year, adding that cumulative adjustments since January 2025 amount to 31.69 per cent.
“It was just the first and second quarters of this year that they reduced it by four per cent. Even that, we challenged that. This particular increment, based on the figures that we’ve seen, does not make mathematical sense to me at all,” he added.
The Minority is therefore urging the PURC to reconsider the decision, insisting that consumers should be benefiting from tariff reductions rather than facing higher costs for essential utilities.