Ghanaians must brace themselves to pay more for electricity starting next month.

The Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) gave this indication in its second quarterly review for 2024.

According to the commission, residential electricity consumers will see an upward adjustment of 5.84% in rates.

The May 31 statement added that tariffs for lifeline consumers will see a 3.45% increase.

“…there will be 3.45% increase in electricity tariffs for lifeline consumers (0-30kWh); 5.84% increase for all other residential consumers who are not part of the lifeline category bracket (31 kWh and above) as well as the non-residential category,” the PURC said.

However the industrial category “will experience an increase in electricity tariffs of 4.92%."

For water, Ghanaians will see "an increase of 5.16% for all customer classes for the period under review."

The changes will kick in from July 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024.

In a statement signed by PURC's Executive Secretary, Ishmael Ackah, the reviews were undertaken in line with the Commission's Quarterly Tariff Review Mechanism, which tracks and incorporates movements in key uncontrollable factors, namely the exchange rate between the US$ and the Ghana Cedi, domestic
inflation rate, the electricity generation mix, and the cost of fuel, mainly natural gas.

The commission says it also considered the competitiveness of industries and the general living conditions of the Ghanaians in arriving at this review.