Public Utilities Regulatory Body Bill Ready - Minister

Accra, Aug. 19 The Public Utilities Regulatory Body bill is ready for the consideration of Parliament. Mr Fred Ohene-Kena, Minister of Mines and Energy who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in a telephone interview, said the draft bill has already received cabinet consent. The Speaker of Parliament has already ordered House to reconvene on September two when the bill is expected to go through the first reading. Mr Ohene-Kena said the interim secretariat for electricity tariffs of the regulatory body commenced work yesterday, August 18, in Room 310 of the sector ministry. The Minister urged all members of the public who want to submit memoranda to the secretariat to do so through the coordinator, or on telephone number 668049. The bill was necessitated by a steep hike in electricity tariffs.Later, President Rawlings directed that its implementation should be suspended until the Utilities Regulatory bill is enacted by the House under a certificate of urgency. The new tariffs by both the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Volta River Authority (VRA), received general disapproval from all levels of the Ghanaian society.