The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced an increment in water and electricity tariffs, following the second quarter upward review, under the Quarterly Tariff Review Mechanism.

While electricity saw a 3.45 per cent increase in tariff for lifeline consumers (0-30kWh), water recorded an increase of 5.16 per cent for all customer classes for the period under review.

A press statement issued and signed by the Executive Secretary of PURC, Dr Ishmael Ackah, copied the Ghanaian Times, in Accra, yesterday, said the new tariffs increase for electricity and water would take effect on July 1, 2024.

The statement said household and industrial consumers would pay more utility tariffs for electricity and water.

The PURC said an increase of 5.84 per cent were to be incurred by all other residential electricity consumers, who were not part of the lifeline category bracket (31 kWh and above) as well as the non-residential category.

The statement said the PURC recommended a 4.92 per cent increase for those in the industrial category for electricity consumers, effective July 1, 2024.

It said water tariffs would experience an increase of 5.16 per cent for all customer classes.

The changes are to last between July 1, 2024, and September 30, 2024, PURC indicated in the second quarter tariff announcement.

The statement said the increment in utility tariffs had become necessary to maintain the real value of the tariffs, thereby keeping the utility service providers financially viable, to enable PURC deliver services to consumers.

It stated the increment was done in line with the Quarterly Tariff Review Mechanism, which tracks and incorporates movements in key uncontrollable factors.

The influences are the exchange between the US dollars and the Cedi, domestic inflation rate, the electricity gas generation mix and the cost of fuel, mainly natural gas.

The PURC said it also considered the competitiveness of industries and the general living conditions of the Ghanaian before arriving at the new increment in tariffs.

The statement said the weighted average cost of gas (WACOG) increased by 5.23 per cent moving up from $7.6426/MMBtu to $8.0422 /MMBtu in the first quarter.

The PURC said the cedi depreciated against the dollar by 20.80 per cent between the first quarter and second quarter of the year, moving from GH¢12.1349 in the first quarter to GH¢14.6584 in the second quarter.

The statement said inflation eased marginally from 28.27 per cent in the first quarter to 24.38 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the Commission observed.

The PURC said during the first quarter review, there was no change in electricity tariff for lifeline consumers, an average reduction of 6.56 per cent for consumers within the consumption bracket of 301kWh and above.

However, those who consumed more than 301kWh had an average reduction of 4.98 per cent, according to the statement.

The PURC indicated that water tariff for the first quarter of 2024 remained 0.34 per cent, the same for the fourth quarter of 2023.