The Chairman of Parliament’s Energy Committee, Emmanuel Bedzrah, has firmly declared that he will not approve any proposals from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
“As the Chairman of the Energy Committee, I will not approve of anything that ECG will bring to us,” he said during an interview on JoyNews’ PM Express on September 9.
His strong stance follows ECG’s recent request to the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) for a 225% increase in its Distribution Service Charge. ECG maintains that the adjustment is crucial to prevent financial collapse and secure reliable electricity delivery.
However, Mr. Bedzrah insists Parliament will not accept such demands. When host Evans Mensah pressed him on the matter, he doubled down:
“Yes, Zero. I just returned from abroad, and on my committee’s WhatsApp platform it was bipartisan bashing of ECG. Nobody will come to us with this.”
He recalled that ECG’s past tariff hikes had already sparked anger in Parliament.
“The last time they increased by 17%, they came, and we told them: well, you should have consulted and you didn’t consult. How can you increase ECG tariffs to 225%?” he questioned.
Interestingly, Mr. Bedzrah admitted that his position on utility tariffs was more flexible in the past.
“Honestly, when I was on the other side as Ranking Member for Works and Housing and Water Resources, I remember telling PURC that I would even approve a 300% increase for them at that time,” he said.
“But sitting here as Chairman of the Energy Committee, and listening to PURC, ECG, and all the institutions under PURC, I will not approve anything that ECG will bring to us.”
His comments come as the PURC holds stakeholder consultations on tariff proposals, not only from ECG but also from the Ghana Water Company Limited, which has requested a 280% increase, citing pollution and the impact of illegal mining.
source: myjoyonline
