“The new tariffs have been gazetted and are effective”, the executive secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Samuel Sarpong said to Pulse.com.gh after meeting with organized labour on December 15.
The PURC confirmed Ghanaians have started paying the new tariffs effective December 14, after months of public outcry and calls for the suspension of the 2015 major tariff adjustment.
Ghanaians are paying 59.2% more for electricity and 67.2% more for water.
Organised labour led by the secretary general of the Trades Union Congress Kofi Asamoah at a meeting on December 14 formally submitted their demands for a suspension of the new tariff increment until there is some stability in the supply of power.
Labour is also demanding the PURC further reduces the tariffs and increments deferred to 2016.
According to labour the utility companies must be compelled by the PURC to reduce their technical and operational inefficiencies as the condition for tariff review.
After more than an hour in a closed door meeting, Kofi Asamoah declared the deliberations were inconclusive and organized labour will decide on their “next line of action”.