The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has declined an invitation from the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to participate in a public hearing on proposed adjustments to utility tariffs for the 2025–2029 review period.
In a statement dated Monday, October 6, and signed by the party’s General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, the NPP described the engagement as “unnecessary” at a time when Ghanaians are already grappling with a high cost of living.
“The NPP shall not attend the said stakeholder engagements because the Party does not see any justification for any engagement on possible utility tariff increment at this moment when Ghanaians are already overburdened by rising cost of living occasioned largely by government’s introduction of new taxes including the new energy sector levy popularly known as ‘Dumsor Levy’,” the statement read.
According to the party, the newly introduced energy levy alone generates significant revenue for the government and should be sufficient to support operations of utility service providers.
“There is absolutely no need for any such conversation to start with, because, the ‘Dumsor Levy’ alone, which was hurriedly passed by the NDC Majority in Parliament under the cover of darkness, rakes in over GH¢575 million every month and over GH¢5.7 billion annually for the government,” the NPP argued.
The party further urged government to channel part of these funds to the Volta River Authority (VRA), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), GRIDCo, and other regulated utility firms, instead of burdening citizens with new tariff adjustments.
The NPP also dismissed suggestions that the proposed tariff review was a requirement under the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, calling such claims “palpably false.”
“The current IMF programme is scheduled to end next year (2026), but the proposed astronomical increment in tariffs is expected to take effect from 2026 to 2029,” the statement clarified.
The party maintained that the push for new tariffs is a reflection of “government’s incompetence in the management of these regulated utilities companies,” describing the situation as “unacceptable.”
“From all indications, what is not in doubt is that Ghanaians are being unduly levied to pay for government’s incompetence… The NPP finds this unacceptable and will use all legitimate means to fight any such attempt to slap Ghanaians with these imminent astronomical increases in utility tariffs,” the statement said.
The PURC had earlier invited key stakeholders, including political parties and consumer groups, to a public hearing to deliberate on proposals submitted by regulated utilities such as VRA, GRIDCo, ECG, NEDCo, Ghana Water Limited, and the Ghana National Gas Company for the 2025–2029 multi-year tariff review.
