Ghanaians may face significantly higher electricity bills as the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has proposed a 225% increase in its Distribution Service Charge (DSC1).
If approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), the charge would rise from GHp19.0384 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to GHp61.8028/kWh for the 2025–2029 regulatory period.
ECG said the current tariff, which covers only 11% of the total electricity value chain cost, is insufficient to sustain operations, particularly following a 74% depreciation of the cedi against major currencies between 2022 and 2024. The company said the increase is needed to strengthen infrastructure, reduce outages, and improve service reliability.
The utility highlighted that investments totaling US$408 million since 2022, including new substations, automation projects, and over one million smart meters, have already been made.
With the proposed increase, ECG expects to cut the average outage duration from 32.5 hours in 2024 to 19.2 hours by 2029 and reduce outage frequency from 16 to 9 incidents per year.
In addition, ECG aims to reduce system losses from 27% to 22% and improve revenue collection efficiency from 87% to over 90% during the same period. The company assured customers that faulty meters would be replaced at no cost and promoted the use of its ECG Power App for digital payments and service management.
While the proposed tariff hike could improve ECG’s operations, residential, commercial, and industrial consumers are likely to see a sharp rise in electricity bills, increasing living and operating costs across the country.
The PURC is reviewing the proposal and any new tariffs will only take effect following regulatory approval.
