The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says it has invested more than $408 million in the last three years to improve electricity supply and customer service.
Dr Charles Nii Ayiku Ayiku, General Manager for External Communications at ECG in a statement, said the Company is now asking the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to approve a new tariff that will help sustain these gains.
He said the Company had proposed increasing its Distribution Service Charge 1 (DSC1) from GHp19.0384 to GHp61.8028 per kilowatt-hour between 2025 and 2029, adding that the increase was needed because the Ghana cedi had lost about 74 per cent of its value since 2022, reducing the company’s revenue in dollar terms by almost half.
The DSC1 is the portion of the electricity tariff allocated to ECG for its electricity distribution and retail services.
Dr Ayiku added that the proposed percentage increase in electricity bills or the new Average End User Tariff (AEUT) was about 24 per cent, which was different from the DSC1; saying, “So the average end user tariff is 24 per cent.”
“Back in 2022, what we charged was equal to 2.27 US cents per kilowatt-hour. Today, it is worth only 1.23 cents. This makes it difficult for ECG to maintain and expand the network without upward tariff adjustments,” Dr Ayiku said.
He said the new tariff would help ECG recover the cost of its recent investments, including new substations in Bibiani, Obuasi, Koforidua, and Afari; the installation of over one million smart meters; and upgrades to digital systems such as the ECG Power App, which allows customers to pay bills, buy credit, and make complaints online.
Customers, he assured, would directly benefit through system reliability and stability, improved voltage, faster response times, and more convenience.
He said the company had projected that by 2029, average outage hours would fall by 41 per cent and system losses would reduce from 27 per cent to 22 per cent.
“We are determined to build a stronger ECG that can deliver reliable service without depending on government bailouts. The proposed tariff is essential to achieving that goal,” Dr Ayiku said.
ECG emphasized that with PURC’s oversight, the company would ensure transparency and accountability in the use of customer funds, reinvesting them into projects that improve power supply for homes and businesses across Ghana.