The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s Upper East Regional Office has facilitated more than GH¢360,652 in recoveries by utility providers and secured over GH¢112,042 in billing adjustments in favor of consumers since 2022, Pious Abdulai Ikililu, the regional public relations officer, disclosed.
Speaking at a media engagement, Ikililu said the figures, drawn from the Commission’s complaint management processes, demonstrate the financial value of regulatory intervention for both consumers and utility service providers.
Billing adjustments arise when the Commission’s investigations find that consumers were overcharged. In 2022, GH¢26,538.23 was credited back to consumers through adjustments against the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo). In 2024, adjustments totalled GH¢20,993.12 against NEDCo and GH¢1,649.86 against Ghana Water Limited. In 2025, GH¢2,665.37 in adjustments were recorded, and as of the first quarter of 2026, adjustments of GH¢58,144.94 had already been secured.
“These amounts we are seeing here were being paid unfairly by consumers, if not for the timely intervention of the office, he said.
In total, GH¢112,042.93 in adjustments has been passed in favor of consumers across the five-year period.
The Commission also assists utility providers in recovering legitimate debt from consumers who have failed to honor payments. In 2022 alone, NEDCo recovered GH¢332,267.70 through Commission-facilitated processes. In 2024, NEDCo recovered GH¢25,000 and Ghana Water Limited recovered GH¢3,000. Total recoveries across all years stand at GH¢360,652.71.
Ikililu said the dual mandate of protecting consumers while ensuring utility companies remain financially viable is central to the Commission’s regulatory philosophy.
“The interest of the consumers is to get, once they are paying for the service, they should get quality delivery. And then the interest of the service providers, they need revenues to be able to pay their staff and then buy fuel for other operational activities.”
The Commission also cited its 2024 Order No. PURCECG012024, which directed the Electricity Company of Ghana to comply with the Cash Waterfall Mechanism, a system for distributing revenues equitably among sector players including the Volta River Authority and GRIDCo. Ikililu said the order prevented a potential shutdown of electricity generation and transmission.
“If those doing the generation stopped, GRIDCo won’t get power to transmit. And NEDCo and ECG too won’t get power to distribute. So it would have caused a lot of discomfort and economic challenges for the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s Upper East Regional Office has resolved 3,401 out of 3,514 consumer complaints lodged between 2022 and the first quarter of 2026, a resolution rate of nearly 97 percent, according to data presented at the same media engagement.
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