The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has allayed fears that the commission will automatically approve tariff proposals by utility service providers. The commission says contrary to such impression, the PURC is required to carefully analyze the proposals of utility service providers with stakeholders, especially consumers before taking a decision on tariffs. In an address read on his behalf by a commissioner of the PURC, at a public hearing in Hohoe on Thursday, the chairman of the commission, Dr. Emmanuel Annan said the PURC is aggressively pursuing its key function of protecting the interest of consumers. The Hohoe hearing was generally seen as interactive with consumers bargaining with utility service companies for fairer tariffs. It also enabled the companies namely; the Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company (GridCo), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWL) to present their problems and justify their tariff proposals. VRA proposed 15 Ghana pesewas per unit instead of six Ghana pesewas currently paid by consumers to enable it expand its operations by purchasing crude oil as well as maintaining and replacing equipment at its substations. GridCo proposed 2.46 Ghana pesewas per kilowatt hour to also enable it meet its expenses in the generation of power to consumers. ECG also proposed 32.5 Ghana pesewas per kilowatt hour instead of the current 12.77 Ghana pesewas, whiles the water company suggested 84 Ghana pesewas per 1000 litres for domestic use and one Ghana cedi 50 pesewas per 1000 litres for commercial purpose. The Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, Mr Stephen Adu told Joy Business that the commission will consider all views before it comes out with the tariffs. Story by Isaac Kwesi Mintah