Effective January 1, 2026, consumers of both electricity and water will experience increases in tariffs. This follows a new tariff approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), which will see electricity rise by 9.86 per cent and water by 15.92 per cent across the board for all customers.
The approval was announced on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, after the conclusion of the major Multi-Year Tariff Review Order (MYTO) processes for the period 2026 to 2030. A statement issued the same evening and signed by the new Executive Secretary of PURC, Dr Shafic Suleman, explained that the review was carried out in line with sections 3, 16, 17, 18, 20 and 21 of the PURC Act, 1997 (Act 538).
“The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission wishes to inform consumers of electricity and water that, after going through the major Multi-year Tariff Review Order (MYTO) processes for the period 2026 to 2030, there has been a review of the existing tariffs effective January 01, 2026. These reviews have been carried out in line with sections 3, 16, 17, 18, 20 and 21 of the PURC Act, 1997, Act 538. This major review is consistent with the Commission's MYTO regime which ranges between 3-5 years,” he said.
Dr Suleman noted that the last major review, which considered both capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX), was undertaken in September 2022 and was due for review in 2025. He explained that this review was separate from the quarterly reviews, which consider only operational expenses beyond the control of the service providers.
He stressed that in undertaking this major review, the Commission considered the investment requirements of the utilities, the competitiveness of industries and the general living conditions of consumers.
“Having considered all the underlying factors, the Commission wishes to announce that there will be a 9.86 per cent increase in electricity tariffs across the board for all categories of electricity customers. Water tariffs for all customer classes, on the other hand, will experience an upward review of 15.92 per cent over the tariff control period (2026-2030),” he said.
He added that these tariff adjustments were approved following the recently concluded investment hearings on utility tariff proposals, stakeholder consultations and regional public hearings undertaken by the Commission.
Factors considered
The Executive Secretary stated that the factors considered in the MYTO decision process included the regulated asset base of the utilities, which was evaluated for the period 2026 to 2030 to allow utilities to meet their asset investment requirements. He added that the revised rates will remain in force over the five-year period.
“There shall, however, be quarterly reviews to these rates, adjusting for factors beyond the control of the utility service providers. These factors are the Ghana cedi to US dollar exchange rate, Ghana's inflation rate, the generation mix between hydro and thermal, as well as the cost of fuel which is mainly natural gas, adjusted using the weighted average cost of gas (WACoG). These quarterly reviews will be undertaken to maintain the real value of the tariffs, thereby keeping the utility service providers financially viable while protecting the interest of consumers,” he said.
He noted that other policy decisions, including the inclusion of mini-grids, were considered in this MYTO to support universal electricity access nationwide.
Reforms
On mini-grid tariffs, Dr Suleman explained that the Commission had taken into account the cost of providing electricity to island communities through the use of mini-grids. “To this end, the cost of providing electricity to such communities at the same uniform rate as other consumers served through traditional forms of electricity has been added to the revenue requirement of the Volta River Authority (VRA) for a seamless implementation,” he added.
