The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), says it incurred a net loss of 860 million dollars due to foreign exchange losses which were primarily caused by the depreciation of the cedi.
The General Manager for Regulatory Management at ECG, Sylvia Noshie made this known.
“These IPPS send us invoices which we have to pay in dollars and the PURC dollar rate still remains at 5.3 since the last tariff approval and you can imagine what the exchange rate is today. Last year, ECG incurred 860 million dollars as forex loss so you can imagine if we are getting to pay IPPs at the current market exchange rate,” she said.
Her claim comes in the wake of concerns over the ECG’S proposal for a 148% increment in tariff for 2022.
Mrs. Noshie said given the huge foreign exchange losses, it will be expedient for ECG to adjust its tariffs to keep its operations afloat.
She assured that if the proposed 148% increment in tariff is approved, the company will adjust tariffs at very minimal rates for five years.
“If the 148 is approved then what it means is that year-on-year we will not need that much increment.”
The Financial Planning & Analysis Manager at Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Samuel Kow Acquah, made a strong case for their demand for an upward review of their tariffs.
“It is not as if the investment requirements have dwindled since we have not been financially stable to make these investments. The Investment requirements are growing and we need to match up these investments” he explained.
