Consumers partly bear the cost of water lost by Ghana Water Limited through the tariffs they pay, the Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Dr Shafic Suleman, has disclosed.

He explained that the PURC’s tariff framework allows for a non-revenue water rate of up to 45 per cent, meaning a portion of water produced but not billed is factored into the utility’s revenue requirements.

However, Ghana Water’s non-revenue water rate stood at 47.6 per cent as of June 2026, exceeding the regulatory benchmark.

Dr Suleman said the high level of non-revenue water remains a major concern for the PURC, given its impact on the efficiency and financial performance of the utility.

“The commission is much more concerned about the non-revenue water issues with Ghana Water,” he said on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, September 2.

He was speaking during a discussion on the topic, “Is Ghana’s water quality and access under threat?”

According to Dr Suleman, while the 45 per cent benchmark is incorporated into the tariff, Ghana Water is penalised when it exceeds the threshold because it is not allowed to recover the full revenue requirement associated with the excess losses from consumers.

“As much as they are not able to meet the benchmark of 45 per cent and systematically [reduce it] to 43 per cent, they are being penalised for it because the tariff is not able to allow them to recover all the needed revenue,” he stated.

He said the PURC’s incentive-based regulatory framework is also designed to reward Ghana Water for reducing its losses.

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If the company succeeds in bringing non-revenue water below 40 per cent, he explained, it would be allowed to retain additional revenue to support future investments.

Dr Suleman said the PURC was monitoring Ghana Water’s investments in transmission pipelines, distribution networks and improved metering systems to ensure that water losses are progressively reduced.

Non-revenue water refers to treated water that does not generate revenue for the utility, largely due to leakages, illegal connections, theft, faulty meters and billing challenges.