High cost of electricity is currently putting the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) under severe financial stress, making the operations of the state broadcaster awfully challenging.
Consequently, the Corporation has decommissioned two of its studios as it struggles to cope with rising electricity bills.
According to the management of GBC, the Corporation is compelled to pay approximately GH¢100,000 every week to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to prevent disconnection, even though parts of its operations have already been shifted onto solar power.
The Director-General of GBC, Professor Amin Alhassan revealed this during a visit by Parliament’s Committee on Communication and Information.
He further disclosed that efforts are underway to extend solar coverage to the Corporation’s Kanda branch in order to further reduce costs.
Professor Alhassan indicated that about 30 per cent of activities at the Adjangote Transmission Line and half of operations at the Takoradi branch are powered by solar energy.
He noted that the financial strain has forced management to drastically ration studio use.
“So, even this particular studio, when the situation became critical, management decided it should only run from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.—four hours a day. The rest of the time, we keep it shut to avoid huge bills. Staff sometimes plead for access, but we overrule them. Broadcasting is capital-intensive, and equipment has traditionally been provided by government or external partners, such as the Japanese. Unfortunately, such support has dwindled in the past 20 years,” Professor Alhassan explained to the members of the parliamentary committee in one of the studios.
He added that commercial operations cannot generate enough funds to purchase the multimillion-dollar equipment required, making external support vital.
“At the moment, the studio is off and will only be warmed up again tomorrow at dawn to run between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. The cost of running it for longer hours is simply unsustainable,” he said.
Electricity tariff hikes
On May 3, 2025, the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) approved electricity tariff of 14.75% for ECG to ensure what it described as regular supply of service.
Consumers were asked to pay the tariff after the PURC attributed the increment to changes in the exchange rate, domestic inflation rate, cost of natural gas and electricity generation mix, among others.
A statement signed by the new Executive Secretary of PURC, Dr Shafic Suleman, explained that a total payment of the outstanding revenues from the previous quarters had resulted in a much higher increase in both electricity tariffs.
However, he said the commission, being mindful of the current economic situation of citizens, decided to recoup only half of the outstanding debts.
The commission, Dr Suleman said, had to minimise the impact of tariff increases on livelihoods while ensuring that the utilities were well-capitalised to keep the lights on.
However, in July 2025, the PURC again approved a tariff adjustment of 2.45%, bringing the total increment in electricity tariffs to 17.20% this year.
Meanwhile, the ECG has submitted a bold proposal to the PURC, seeking a 225% increase in its Distribution Service Charge (DSC1) over the 2025–2029 tariff period.
This request, if approved, according to consumers, will further increase electricity bills for both domestic and industrial users.
By Collins Adu-Gyamfi
