The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has commended government for recently announcing reductions in electricity tariffs across industry and other consumer categories by the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission.

A statement issued recently and signed by Dr Yaw Adu Gyamfi, AGI President, said this is a welcome gesture, particularly coming on the heels of the recent stakeholder consultations.

Since the last tariff review in December 2015, high cost of electricity has often emerged as the number one difficulty facing businesses, according to the AGI business barometer reports.

Consultations on electricity tariff and calls on government to re-consider the current tariff levels have since been a major advocacy agenda for AGI and other groups.

“AGI is therefore happy that this concern has received government’s attention, taking cognizance of some of the factors we believe impact on energy pricing.

“While awaiting details of the gazetted tariffs in the coming days, AGI is optimistic the reductions will open up new prospects for businesses and inure to our competitiveness as a country. We look forward to the new tariffs taking effect from 15th March, 2018 with the right billing systems put in place to ensure smooth implementation.”

The AGI additionally acknowledged the bold step taken by government and the PURC towards the electricity tariff reductions and noted: “we hope to continue the dialogue to ensure utility rates for industry remain competitive.”