Ghana Water to receive extra revenue if non-revenue water falls below 40% – PURC

Ghana Water Limited could receive additional revenue if it reduces its non-revenue water rate below 40 per cent, the Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Dr Shafic Suleman, has disclosed.

He said the incentive would enable the utility company to undertake further investments in its water production and distribution infrastructure.

Dr Suleman disclosed this on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, September 2, during a discussion on the topic, “Is Ghana’s water quality and access under threat?”

The PURC currently allows Ghana Water a non-revenue water benchmark of 45 per cent under the five-year Multi-Year Tariff Order. The regulator expects the figure to decline progressively to about 43 per cent over three years.

However, Ghana Water’s non-revenue water rate stood at 47.6 per cent as of June 2026, exceeding the regulatory benchmark.

“If they are able to reduce it below 40 per cent, the extra incentive goes to them as additional revenue for them to use for their subsequent investments,” Dr Suleman said.

He explained that the incentive-based regulatory framework also imposes a financial penalty when Ghana Water fails to meet the approved benchmark.

“As much as they are not able to meet the benchmark of 45 per cent and systematically [reduce it] to 43 per cent, they are being penalised for it because the tariff is not able to allow them to recover all the needed revenue,” he stated.

Dr Suleman said the PURC was monitoring Ghana Water’s infrastructure investments and could tighten the benchmark if the company consistently reduced its non-revenue water rate to about 40 per cent for three or four months.

Non-revenue water refers to treated water that does not generate income for the utility because of leakages, theft, illegal connections, faulty meters, and billing challenges.