Tariff controversy: Ghanaian Media naïve about ECG billing system

A copy of ECG customer bill sheet

There is a common believe that most journalists shy away from numerals. Well, the current figures being circulated in the media about the possible increment in electricity tariffs seem to give some credence to this believe.

First, it borders on the issue of crosschecking, a tool which has been repeatedly mentioned in journalism to the point that it has become a cliché. Second is the old devil of the fear for numerals, charts, graphs and anything that has to do with data analysis.

I have seen at least two figures been thrown around as the actual percentage increment in electricity tariff; 69% and 75%. If anything at all these figures go to show how limited journalists understanding of how tariffs are charged. Of course having a limited knowledge is not the issue but going to town with such information without any crosschecking is.

The PURC announced a 59.2 percent increment in electricity tariff. Later journalists found a directive ordering ECG to charge 5% on street lights and another 5% on National Electrification levy. It should be noted that rates for charging these items are different. It is therefore inaccurate for anybody to add these percentages and conclude it’s the accumulative percentage increase.

So is it inaccurate to do any calculation based on a single rate. At best we can mention the individual percentage increments for each item. But we have to mention a particular cumulative figure then we need a little insight into how your electricity bill is calculated. Let’s use these arbitrary rates.

Item Units Rate (price per unit) Amount/¢

Energy 10.4229 0.4229

Electrification. Levy 10.1308 0.1308

Street Lights 10.0001 0.0001

Total ¢ 0.5538


Energy is the amount/units of electricity you consume in a month.

Electrification levy and street lights are taxes you pay on the amount of energy you consume.

Note that there is no single rate for charging these items.
The rate is how much one is charged for consuming 1 unit of electricity. So per the rates in the table a person who consumes 1 unit of electricity will pay 0.5538 cedis, which is approximately 60peswas.

Now if electricity is increased by 59.2% it means that the rate for energy has been increased by that margin. That for electrification levy and street lights have been quoted as 5% each. So this is how to get the news rates: 59.2% of 0.4229 is simply 59.2/100 × 0.4229 = 0.2504. So 0.2504 is the increment. Added to the old rate we have 0.6733 as the new rate.

Similarly, for a 5% increment in electrification levy the new rate becomes: 5/100 × 0.1308 = 0.0065. Sow new rate becomes increment plus old rate = 0.0065 0.1308 = 0.1373 For a 5% increment in street lights the calculation will lead us to a new rate as 0.00011

So for someone who consumes 1 unit of electricity, this is the new charge:

Item Units Rate (price per unit) Amount/¢
Energy 1 0.6733 0.6733
Electrification Levy 1 0.1373 0.1373
Street Lights 1 0.00011 0.00011
Total ¢ 0.8107


Per the new rate a person who consumes 1 unit of electricity will now pay 0.8107 cedis, which is approximately 80pewsas. This means that someone who used to pay 0.5538 cedis would now be paying 0.8107 cedis. The cumulative percentage increment is simply the difference between the new and the old amount (0.8107 – 0.5538 = 0.2533) divided by the old amount (0.2569/0.5538); multiplied by 100 ( 0.2569/0.5538 × 100 = 0.464 × 100 = 46.4%). Cumulative percentage increment in electricity cost is therefore 46.4%.

A copy of a post-paid electricity bill (shown above) shows that the item, electrification levy, is not captured. But it’s impossible to propose an increment on an item which is not there in the first place. So this calls for more questions from journalist.

Now, with all these figures circulating, where are the utility providers? The ECGs, the VRAs and the PURCs. Haven’t they had enough bad press already to allow such inaccuracies to be perpetuated by the media? The media gets it wrong sometimes. That’s why there is the right for rejoinders. It’s been almost two days since the media run with their fictitious figures; figures which are contradicting each other; yet we have heard nothing from the PURC and the ECG. Is it an admission that the personnel of the utility companies also do not know how they do their own calculations? Or it’s because they have not seen the stories more than 24 hours after their publication?

I am not a communications person for the PURC or ECG, neither am I a critique of the press in this instance. I am just a Ghanaian who believes that Ghanaians have the right to timely accurate information at all times.

Source: Kwaku Botwe /starrfmonline.com