The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is currently facing public discontent over a proposal for significant tariff increases covering 2025 to 2030, but Rev. John Awuni, the Chairman of the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG), is leading a campaign aimed at ensuring that the government does not make Ghanaians pay for ECG’s inefficiencies.
In a petition to President John Dramani Mahama, cited by The High Street Journal, Rev. Awuni described ECG’s request for such a huge tariff hike as “a subsidy for waste, corruption, and theft.”
He argues that approving such hikes without structural reforms would amount to punishing citizens for the company’s deep-seated inefficiencies.
“The fundamental truth is that ECG is hemorrhaging money through inefficiency,” he indicated.
A Burden Too Heavy to Bear
Rev. Awuni, in his petition, echoed the frustration of many households and businesses already struggling under the weight of rising utility bills and economic uncertainty. For ordinary Ghanaians, every tariff increment translates into higher transportation costs, inflated prices of goods, and shrinking disposable incomes.
Small business owners like tailors, welders, cold store operators, and barbers, who depend on steady power, even a few pesewas added to each kilowatt-hour can erode their profits or force price increases that drive customers away.
Rev. Awuni’s petition suggests that the pain citizens feel is not just economic but moral.
The Real Cost of Inefficiency
For years, experts have long pointed to ECG’s high technical and commercial losses. The company’s revenue continues to bleed. There are also reports that indicate that staff compensation and benefits have ballooned, with remuneration packages that outstrip those of comparable state enterprises.
This, the petitioner says, does not warrant the government to reward inefficiency with more tariffs while piling debt.
“In the face of these unacceptable losses, is the obscene staff benefits or compensation packages compared to similar key state agencies. Approving tariff hikes without fixing these systemic failures would be a profound injustice to citizens and businesses. It would mean asking Ghanaians to subsidize waste, theft, and corruption, while eroding the country’s competitiveness and risking social unrest,” he wrote in the petition.
A Call for Accountability Before Increments
He is calling for a conditional approach that ensures reforms before increments. According to him, the government must first demand measurable efficiency improvements, financial transparency, and cost rationalization at ECG.
For him, there’s nothing wrong with paying a fair price for power; however, it is wrong morally and economically to demand that Ghanaians finance inefficiency, negligence, and corruption.
If ECG were to run efficiently, the chairman of FABAG believes, tariffs are likely to go down.
A Defining Moment for the Power Sector
Already, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) is preparing to deliberate on ECG’s tariff proposal. Rev. Awuni’s petition presents a moral and economic test for policymakers.
The choices are clear now. He calls on the government to protect consumers and demand accountability.
For him, Ghana’s power sector has reached a familiar crossroads, but this time, the question is not just about electricity prices. It is about fairness, governance, and whether leadership will prioritize reform over routine tariff hikes.
