Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have served notice to the government that they are anxiously waiting for a reduced electricity tariff in the upcoming tariff review by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC).
They warned that any contrary action would be fiercely resisted, stressing that “Ghanaians deserve better.”
Addressing the media in Accra on Monday, May 19, 2025, the Ranking Member of the Energy Committee of Parliament, George Kwame Aboagye, said the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian remains paramount to them.
The Minority Caucus, they added, will not stand idly by while Ghanaians suffer from the inefficiencies of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
They demand that “any increase in tariffs must be accompanied by enhanced service delivery. We cannot accept poor performance while paying exorbitant prices”.
The group noted that the Cedi’s continuous appreciation against major international trading currencies is enough reason for the PURC to reduce electricity tariffs.
“We are monitoring happenings in the energy sector. In the next utility tariff review, we expect a reduction in electricity tariffs, considering the Cedi’s strong performance against major international trading currencies,” noted Hon. Aboagye.
Fix the lights
The Minority Caucus has also demanded that the Minister of Energy and Green Transitions, John Jinapor, take action to restore power and end the erratic power supply confronting the country.
“It’s time to stop talking and put the lights on,” the Minority cautioned. “It is imperative that the Minister shifts his focus from public pronouncements to tangible actions that will resolve the ongoing issues plaguing our power sector. It looks like our colleague (Jinapor) seems more interested in making headlines than keeping the lights on”.
Jinapor in a recent address urged the public to prepare for an imminent nationwide power crisis as the country had only “2.6 days of fuel left” to run the turbines. This brought fear and panic among the people with many questionings how their businesses were going to thrive under such a precarious situation.
They condemned the Minister’s recent remarks, which created fear and panic among the people, and urged him to focus on tangible actions to resolve the ongoing issues plaguing the power sector.
Key demands
The Minority Caucus has outlined several key demands, including: Renegotiating burdensome take-or-pay contracts; Setting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for ECG and NEDCO to reduce operational and distribution losses; Diversifying the energy mix with renewables and gas optimization; Encouraging off-peak consumption by industries to flatten the demand curve; and Accelerating the rollout of smart metering to curb theft and increase revenue mobilization
They also want the current administration to be guided by the prudent management of the energy sector by the immediate-past government, which ensured the lights were kept on during the past eight years.
