The Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE) has warned that the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) proposed 225% tariff increase could have devastating consequences for the economy if approved.

According to CEMSE, the sharp hike risks crippling local industries, discouraging investment, and worsening household poverty.

Speaking on Morning Starr on Tuesday, CEMSE’s Executive Director, Benjamin Nsiah, stressed that electricity affordability must remain a guiding principle in Ghana’s energy policy.

“As a government and as a policy, we must be guided by the philosophy of affordability of electricity prices.

When electricity prices are affordable, it expands industries, drives industrial growth, and lifts many people out of poverty—especially what we call energy poverty,” he explained.

Mr Nsiah argued that ECG’s current financial struggles stem not from low tariffs but from systemic inefficiencies in its operations.

He urged regulators to prioritise reforms that improve ECG’s efficiency rather than burdening consumers with steep tariff hikes.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) is yet to make a final decision on ECG’s proposal, which has already sparked widespread debate among businesses, civil society, and consumer advocacy groups.