The Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) has appealed to the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to reconsider and suspend the implementation of newly approved electricity and water tariff increases set to take effect on July 1, 2026.

The call follows PURC’s announcement of its third-quarter tariff review, which raised electricity tariffs by 3.49 per cent and water tariffs by 0.85 per cent.

The Commission attributed the adjustments to factors including exchange rate movements, inflation, fuel costs and changes in the power generation mix.

In a statement issued on June 24, GUTA challenged the rationale behind the increases, arguing that the reasons advanced by the regulator have been repeatedly used to justify tariff hikes over the years.

The Association maintained that recent economic indicators do not support any upward adjustment in utility charges.

According to GUTA, the cedi’s average depreciation of 4.18 per cent between April and May was too marginal to warrant higher tariffs. It also noted that inflation only increased slightly from 3.4 per cent in April to 3.7 per cent in May.

In addition, the Association pointed to recent reductions in fuel prices, with petrol declining by 9.3 per cent and diesel by 1.7 per cent during the second pricing window of June.

Rejecting concerns about power generation challenges, GUTA argued that there are currently no significant issues affecting the generation mix, as power plants are operating normally.

“The cedi indeed depreciated by an average of 4.18% between April and May, but this depreciation is insignificant, which does not call for any increment. Inflation just rose from 3.4% in April to 3.7% in May, which is also minimal. Regarding fuel prices, they fell in the second pricing window in June. Petrol fell by 9.3% and diesel by 1.7%. On the issue of Generation Mix, there is no problem, as all the machines are working. PURC has no justification for this tariff increment,” the Association stated.