Electricity and Water bill up by 21 and 27.15 percent
Business

Electricity and Water bill up by 21 and 27.15 percent

Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) have increased Water and electricity tariffs by 21 percent and 27.15 percent in that order. The new tariff increase is expected to take effect from Thursday, 1 September 2022. Meanwhile, the increase came as a result of the proposal by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company (GWCL) a few months ago. Earlier per their proposal, ECG proposed an increase of 148 percent. It also wanted tariffs adjusted by 7.6 percent on average between 2023 and 2026. According to the ECG, the proposed increase was a result of the gap between the actual cost recovery tariff, the tariff approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) and the cost of finished projects. In a tariff proposal presented to the PURC, the GWCL also proposed an increase in tariff to enable it to recover its cost. Both utility companies raised concerns about the PURC’s refusal to adjust tariffs to match the cost of their production. “The financial sustainability of the Electricity Company of Ghana is important as it impacts on the entire energy sector. With the huge investment needs facing the distribution industry over the next five years, it is expected that the proposed tariff increases would inevitably be approved to sustain efficient and reliable electricity service,” the ECG noted. It continued: “Overall, this tariff proposal indicates a high increase (148%) in the year 2022 compared with the subsequent years’ increases of an average of 7.6%. This high increase in 2022 is largely attributable to the cost of investment projects; the gap that has developed over the years between the actual cost recovery tariff and the PURC approved tariffs; the continual application of the prevailing tariff (which was a 14% reduction) beyond the stipulated regulatory period (2019-2020); and the effect of macroeconomic factors.” The GWCL also noted: “It must at least recover its costs if we are to sustain our operations. Over the years, however, the approved tariffs have not been full cost reflective”. “This has led to the inability of GWCL to raise enough revenue to finance the much-needed capital investment projects, with a consequent unsatisfactory level of service.” Source: Apexnewsgh.com

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Ghana Water Company to Start using drones for meter reading
Opinion

Ghana Water Company to Start using drones for meter reading

The Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Clifford A. Braimah has revealed that Ghana Water Company has piloted a drone metering system to read meters in any case of flood or disturbances. Apexnewsgh.com report While addressing the congregation, M. Braimah said “We have just piloted the drone metering system. Sometimes, when there is a flood, we are unable to go and read, when there are other destructions, you are unable to go and read and we have used the drones to take the meters and the record is fantastic”. Mr. Braimah said: “Within 15 minutes we are able to read over 500 meters. So, what it means is that if they are wildly deployed, we will be more efficient and then the customers will have their bills as quickly as possible so that they can plan to pay”. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093

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Residents of Bolgatanga unhappy over dirty tap running water from Ghana Water Company.
Opinion

Residents of Bolgatanga unhappy over dirty tap running water from Ghana Water Company.

Residents of Bolgatanga Municipal have shared a worrying experience of what they described as frequent dirty tap water flowing through their water pipe in recent times whenever Ghana Water Company (GWCL) decides to supply water to them. One resident who spoke to Apexnewsgh.com was seen tied two yellow gallons popularly known as Kufour gallon on her motorbike whiles angrily going to look for another source of portable drinking elsewhere at a nearby mechanized borehole. According to her, the water from the Ghana Water Company in recent times has become too dirty posing a whole lot of health threat to her.  Meanwhile, two days after the ladies incident, Apexnewsgh.com received another call from another patriotic and loyal customer of Ghana Water Company complaining of the same dirty tap running water through his pipe.  According to these customers of the Ghana Water Company who was furious with such an unfortunate developing situation, “when you are fetching the water, you might not notice it immediately but, when you finish fetching the water and allow it for some time then, you will see the dirty particles settled down and most people drink the water directly from the tap without knowing the health implications”. He explained   Meanwhile, when Apexnewsgh.com contacted the Department of Water Quality Assurance Managers of the Ghana Water Company below were their explanations.  “There are so many factors that go into it, it could be from our source, and it could also be from the distribution network. From our source, we ensure that at the treatment plant the quality of water that comes out meets the regulatory standard. Once it leaves the treatment plant and is coming down, there are so many activities on the way that cause it damages on our pipelines. They have this kind of construction work going on, we have illegal connections and those things. Within the distribution system, there can also be a leakage or burst that, if we don’t see it early enough and worked on it, it will allow the dirty water inside to contaminate it and another thing is that, some areas are still using copper pipes, metallic pipes. So, when they are using the metallic pipe because the demand of water in Bolga is huge in supply, there is what we call ‘rationing’. So, we need to ration the water so that everybody can get something small to take. So, when we have this kind of old pipelines especially in most of the old buildings that do not have these PVC pipes, the water can be colored because when it rust and water is not passing through it for some time, when they open the water it can be colored”. They explained However, they appealed to the consumers to always report any of such incidents to them as soon as possible to enable them to investigate the cause and correct the problem. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093

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