The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission as part of efforts to fulfill its “Year of Operational Efficiency”, engaged staff and students of the Nusrat Jahan Ahmadiyya (NJA) College of Education in Wa on Monday, October 30, 2023. The purpose of this engagement was to educate stakeholders on the Commission’s operations as well as its tariff processes.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, walked staff and students of the College through the functions and operations of the Commission. In explaining the tariff determination process, Dr. Ackah noted that, the Commission, adopts the used and useful concept of cost measures. This concept allows for the Commission, to consider only prudent costs incurred by the service providers. “Where the utilities put in costs that the Commission deems as not directly affecting their service provision to consumers, we reject such costs. As a result, the Commission has put in place robust mechanisms and benchmarks to ensure that the utilities run an efficient system” Dr. Ackah said.
He further indicated that tariffs are set based on revenue requirements of utility service providers, thus, it is not the case that, whatever the utility service providers present to the Commission is that, which is approved.
According to Dr. Ackah, “the Commission has two tariff windows, that is, the major tariff review and the quarterly tariff review. He added that the major tariff review is undertaken every three years while the minor tariff reviews are undertaken on a quarterly basis to make up for shortfalls in the major reviews”.
Dr. Ackah emphasized that it is necessary for consumers to monitor their use of electricity and water services. This will enable them to manage their consumption and how much they spend on utility bills. Participants were made to understand the roles of various players (VRA, GRIDCo, NEDCo & GWCL) in the provision of electricity and water services.
Alhaji Jabaru Abukari, Director of Regional Operations and Consumer Services of the Commission, explained the Commission’s complaint management process and its resolution procedures. Alhaji Jabaru took participants through how a complaint could be lodged and the various stages of the complaint process within the Commission.
Alhaji Jabaru appealed to consumers to use water and electricity efficiently and stay away from illegal use of utilities to avoid sanctions and surcharges.
Mr. Edmund Kwaku Tufour, Head of Consumer Services, Monitoring and Operations of PURC, demonstrated how the PURC Tariff Reckoner and the Electricity Consumption Estimator (PECE) on the PURC website could be accessed and used. He implored participants on the need for consumers to monitor their consumption.
The Principal of NJA College of Education and Chairman for the program, Mr. Abdul Aziz Abdul Moomin, in his closing remarks, expressed joy in understanding the PURC’s tariff process, complaints procedure and illustration on how to estimate bills incurred for electricity and water consumption. Mr. Moomin, called for further collaboration between the Commission and its stakeholders and thanked the Commission for choosing the school for the tariff education process. He advised students to share the knowledge acquired with their families and be Ambassadors of PURC in their various communities.
