The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission held a maiden preliminary investment hearing for the utility providers from 25th to 27th February 2025. This is part of the Commission’s regulatory reform efforts to ensure detailed and in-depth review of the utility providers’ investments for the 2025 major tariff review process and beyond.
The Ag. Executive Secretary, Dr. Shafic Suleman during his opening remarks explained that the investment hearing is the first of its kind aimed at complimenting the Commission’s effort to ensure transparency in its process. He stated that the preliminary investment hearing is meant to introduce the utilities to the requirements and procedures for the main investment hearing scheduled for May 2025.
The Utility Service Providers who were present at the hearing include the Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), Enclave Power Company (EPC), Ghana Water Limited (GWL), and Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC). During the hearing, the utility service providers presented their short to medium and long-term capital investment projects. The projects presented include Network Extensions, Transformer Upgrades, Feeder Upgrades, Replacement and Rehabilitation of Pumps, Meter Replacement, Building of Sub Stations among others. The service providers indicated that the outlined projects would help to improve revenue collection, reduce losses and ensure the provision of affordable, accessible, reliable and sustainable utility services. Following the presentations, the PURC team asked questions and pointed out critical areas that are required for analysis such as source of funding for the projects and the benefits they would provide to the energy and water sectors.
The Director for Legal Services of PURC, Mrs. Nancy Atiemo, took the utility service providers through the draft investment hearing guidelines. She highlighted the requirements, composition processes and timelines for the main investment hearings which is scheduled for May 2025, pending the constitution of the PURC Board.
Dr. Shafic Suleman, in his concluding remarks, advised the utility service providers to prioritise projects which would provide immediate benefits to the energy and water sectors in the short term. He also encouraged them to implement the comments and inputs from the PURC to update and present detailed and accurate presentations for the main investment hearing in May 2025
