The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has declined to increase tariffs for electricity and water for the second quarter of the year citing poor quality of service by the utility companies. At a media briefing on Friday to announce the decision, Vice Chairman of the Technical Committee of the PURC, Mr. Samuel Sarpong maintained that the companies do not deserve any adjustment due to their unsatisfactory services. “The Commission recognises that there have been some increases in some of the key variables which impact on the operations of the utility service providers which would under normal circumstances result in an increase in tariffs. “However, the commission's recent monitoring, as well as representations made by various consumer groups show increasing deterioration in the quality of service provided by the utility companies and widespread consumer dissatisfaction. "In the light of the above, the commission has decided to withhold any tariff increases in the second quarter of 2011”. According to Mr. Sarpong, the PURC was putting measures together to enhance utility service in the country, which would include holding a dialogue with all stakeholders to establish the causes for recent serious lapses in the quality of service from the utility companies. He said the Commission would also investigate the extent to which any possible efficiency savings by the utility companies could mitigate the need for increases in tariffs, particularly in the third quarter of 2011. The Executive Secretary of PURC Steven Adu in an interview with Joy News’ Sammy Darko on punitive measures being taken by his office against the utility providers, said the Commission would have to gather enough evidence to take action against them; noting “we can’t work by words of mouth only…we need evidence”. He also maintained that power outages, both planned and unplanned, should not exceed eight hours. Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Anthony Gyampoh admitted that ECG has some challenges, citing its inability to provide "consistent power supply" as one of them. He however said various measures are being taken to overcome those challenges to earn them the needed increment in tariffs. He told Joy News’ Dzifa Bampoh that circumstance faced by the ECG is similar to the ‘chicken and egg’ situation, explaining that his outfit needs resources to improve its performance, which he said increasing tariff could partly help the situation. He said the decision by the PURC is “differently going to affect us considerable”. The Chief Executive of Volta River Authority, reiterated the same problems as posited by the ECG boss. He said denying the companies the needed increment would indicate “endorsing deterioration in service”. Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana