PURC justifies bill increases in spite of continuous water and power outages.
Dr. Eric Obutey, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) Director of Research and Corporate Affairs, has defended recent utility tariff increases, claiming that customers are getting value for their money in spite of ongoing complaints about inconsistent water flow and unpredictable power supplies in some areas of the nation.
In an interview with Joy FM’s Middaynews on Monday, April 14, Dr. Obutey recognised the worries of residents who are experiencing water shortages and blackouts, but he stressed that utility service providers are adhering to the Commission’s regulatory standards.
We track utilities using well-defined benchmarks, such as technical and commercial system losses and the length of outages experienced by individual customers. The majority of these standards are being met, according to our most recent assessments, which shows that the service is in compliance.
The public’s mounting discontent, however, presents a different image. Paying increased bills while receiving unstable services has angered many customers.
Dr. Obutey responded by pointing out that planned or unexpected maintenance is frequently to blame for interruptions and that equipment failures are a normal component of utility operations.
“These are machines.” They will occasionally break down. Most of the time, planned maintenance is announced two hours to two weeks in advance. However, he pointed out that businesses might not have time to alert the public when errors happen suddenly.
