July anticipates tough month as fuel, electricity and water tariffs go up
The month of July has been tipped to be crucial as tough times glare ahead in the coming weeks.
Prices of essential commodities like water, electricity, and fuel started going up on July 1.
A few weeks before, cement prices had also increased nationwide.
The cost of electricity is up by 5.8 per cent and water by 5.1 per cent from July 1 following a tariff adjustment approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission(PURC) for residential use.
The PURC has attributed the increase to several factors, including cedi depreciation, inflation, fuel cost, and electricity generation mix.
In a statement on May 31, PURC noted that tariffs for lifeline consumers will see a 3.45% increase.
“There will be a 3.45% increase in electricity tariffs for lifeline consumers (0-30kWh); 5.84% increase for all other residential consumers who are not part of the lifeline category bracket (31 kWh and above) as well as the non-residential category,” the PURC said.
However, the industrial category “will experience an increase in electricity tariffs of 4.92%.”
The statement signed by PURC’s Executive Secretary, Ishmael Ackah, explained that the reviews were undertaken in line with the Commission’s Quarterly Tariff Review Mechanism, which tracks and incorporates movements in key uncontrollable factors, namely the exchange rate between the US$ and the Ghana Cedi, domestic inflation rate, the electricity generation mix, and the cost of fuel, mainly natural gas.
The Commission also considered the competitiveness of industries and the general living conditions of Ghanaians when it arrived at this review.
On the other hand, fuel prices have seen a surge in the first pricing window of July, starting July 1, 2024.
This increase has affected the retail prices of petrol, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at pumps nationwide.
The price hike has also been attributed to a further depreciation of the Cedi against the Dollar, with the exchange rate dropping from an average of $1:GH¢14.4788 to $1:GH¢15.2779, a decline of 1.89%.
Similarly, the retail pump price of diesel has increased to GH¢15.21 per litre from the previous. The price of LPG has seen a 5% rise, ranging between GH¢13.24 per kg and GH¢14.64 per kg.
In a price projection before the increase, the Chamber for Petroleum Consumers(COPEC) urged the government to reduce taxes on LPG or subsidise its price to encourage widespread use and accessibility, which would help protect the environment by reducing reliance on firewood.
COPEC appealed to the government to expedite efforts to bring the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) back into operation.
