The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) Ashanti Regional Office has intensified its stakeholder engagement drive with a targeted outreach to key industrial consumers in the region to address their persistent challenges with electricity and water service delivery.
The engagement, which forms part of the Commission’s mandate to protect the interests of both consumers and utility service providers, saw the PURC team visit a total of ten (10) major industries across different industrial enclaves in the Ashanti Region. The exercise was aimed at first-hand assessment of utility-related challenges affecting industrial productivity, and to take the necessary regulatory steps to facilitate swift resolution.
The industries visited included *CBS Industry, Zen Petroleum, Ecocent Block Factory, Kumasi Compost and Recycling Plant (KCARP), Safasco Enterprise, Evapure Ghana, Unijay Ltd, C. Woermann Ghana Ltd, Snapi Aba Banking Services, and Latex Foam Enterprise* – comprising a diverse mix of manufacturing, recycling, petroleum, building materials, water production, equipment supply, and services sectors.
During the interactions, the industrial players raised concerns ranging from unstable power supply and voltage fluctuations leading to damage of equipment and increased operational cost, delayed response to faults by the utilities, irregular water supply, low water pressure, and billing anomalies.
The Ashanti Regional Manager of PURC, together with his technical team, assured the industries that the Commission has taken note of all their concerns and will immediately engage the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Ghana Water Limited (GWL) to address the issues.
He added that reliable utility service is critical for Ghana’s industrialization agenda and that PURC is committed to creating an enabling environment for industries to thrive, reduce cost of production, and sustain employment.
The management of the visited companies expressed profound gratitude to the PURC for the proactive visit, describing it as timely and unprecedented.
According to them, they were very happy that the regulator came to their doorsteps to listen to their plight, rather than them having to chase the regulator. They lauded the PURC Ashanti Region for its open-door policy and stakeholder-centered approach, and appealed for such engagements to be sustained.
The PURC reiterated its call on all consumers facing challenges with electricity and water services to channel their complaints to its Ashanti Regional Office located at Adum, Kumasi, for prompt redress.
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