New electricity bills in Ghana won't really be 27.15% more

The commonly given advice that each electricity bill will be close to 27.15% more can be misleading.

Instead, disregard "27.15%", unless you're interested in statistics. 

The new tariffs are actually complicated. Let's analyze the document. Click to enlarge.

"Residential". Residential is where people stay, either by being property owners or paying several months' advance for rent.

"Lifeline Customers". If you only use electricity for small or medium-sized modern light bulbs, charging your phone, and you don't share your meter, you qualify for the lifeline tariffs. If you use a fridge or a fan, you might not qualify for the lifeline tariffs.

If you have a blender, it doesn't necessarily mean you don't qualify, though it uses much it is only on for a few minutes at most so it does not have much time to use power.

What matters is the amount you pay every month. 

"I pay 5 cedis a month": Then you will pay 5.82 cedis a month, 16.4% more.

Why 5.82? Let's look at the document again.

You qualify to be a Lifeline Customer.

The old price is 32.6060 Pesewas per unit, the new price is 41.9065 Pesewas per unit. So the old price is 0.326060 Ghana Cedis per unit, the new price is 0.419065 Ghana Cedis per unit.

Also, you pay 2 taxes. There is no E-levy while buying power.

1. The National Electrification Scheme Levy (some call it "special levy"). = 2%.

2. The Public Lighting Levy (some call it "street light levy") = 3%.

To apply taxes, multiply the cost per unit by 1.05.

Also, you pay a monthly service charge of 2.13 Ghana Cedis. The new price is the same as the old price.

Old Price: 8.38×(0.326060×1.05)+2.13=5

New Price: 8.38×(0.419065×1.05)+2.13=5.82

So, you pay 5 cedis 82 pesewas for 8.38 units, instead of 5 cedis 0 pesewas for 8.38 units.

If you share your meter, it's not "I pay 5 cedis every month". It can only be calculated this way if the landlord pays ONLY 5 cedis every month to the meter.

Disclaimer: Numbers on this page are subject to rounding(up, down, or simply rounding). Errors introduced by rounding shall not exceed 1%.

"I pay 10 cedis a month": Then you will pay 12.25 cedis a month, 22.5% more.

Old Price: 22.98×(0.326060×1.05)+2.13=10

New Price: 22.98×(0.419065×1.05)+2.13=12.25

"I pay 12.40 cedis a month": Then you will pay 15.33 cedis a month, 23.63% more.

Old Price: 30×(0.326060×1.05)+2.13=12.40

New Price: 30×(0.419065×1.05)+2.13=15.33

"I pay more than 12.40 cedis a month": Then you are not a Lifeline Customer. 

Instead, you are under the category "All Other Residential Customers". Even if you were a Lifeline Customer, you will no longer be a Lifeline Customer if you still require 12.40 or more cedis worth of power in the old price.

"All Other Residential Customers". For example, you have a fan and a fridge. Or you use an electric stove. Or you use a borehole/well water pump. Or you share a meter with others.

0-300 kWh. If 300 or fewer units or credits are bought for the meter every month, it is easy to calculate, even if the the meter is shared with others. Those who use 1 unit will pay 0.890422*1.05=0.9349431 cedis per unit. 

Also, a service charge of 10.7309 cedis (43.91% more) will be billed monthly.

"I pay 13 cedis a month": Then you will pay 40.42 cedis a month, 210.92% more.

Old Price: 31.75×(0.326060×1.05)+2.13=13

New Price: 31.75×(0.890422×1.05)+10.7309=40.42

The old tariff is not 0.654161 per unit. It's 0.326060 per unit for the first 50 units.

In the old tariff, using 50 units or fewer per month made you a Lifeline Consumer, which means you pay a service charge of 2.13 cedis per month. In the new tariff, using more than 30 units per month disqualifies you from being a Lifeline Customer, and you'll pay the 'normal' Service Charge of 10.7309 cedis.

"I pay 15 cedis a month": Then you will pay 45.89 cedis a month, 205.93% more.

Old Price: 37.60×(0.326060×1.05)+2.13=15

New Price: 37.60×(0.890422×1.05)+10.7309=45.89

"I pay 19.25 cedis a month": Then you will pay 57.48 cedis a month, 198.59% more.

Old Price: 50×(0.326060×1.05)+2.13=19.25

New Price: 50×(0.890422×1.05)+10.7309=57.48

19.25 is notable because this is the maximum that can be paid as a Lifeline Consumer in the old tariff. If 19.25 is paid, you'll get 50 units in the old tariff.

After 19.25, there is a gap, so you can't pay 20 cedis exactly.

After paying 19.25 cedis, to pay again so that you're in the category "Other Residential Consumers", you would have to pay the 'normal' Service Charge, which is 7.456947-2.13=5.326947. 

So, it's 50×(0.326060×1.05)+2.13=19.25 vs 51×(0.326060×1.05)+7.456947=24.92, i.e. buying 51 units instead of 50 in the old tariff basically wastes money.

"I pay 30 cedis a month": Then you will pay 64.87 cedis a month, 116.23% more.

This is where it starts to get complicated. 

If you know how tax brackets work, that's like how tariffs work.

Old Price: 50×(0.326060×1.05)+7.89×(0.654161×1.05)+7.456947=30

New Price: 57.89×(0.890422×1.05)+10.7309=64.86

0.654161, the "old tariff" in the document, is finally used.

The first 50 units are 0.326060 cedis per unit + tax.

The next 250 units are 0.654161 cedis per unit + tax.

"I pay 100 cedis a month": Then you will pay 160.14 cedis a month, 60.14% more.

Old Price: 50×(0.326060×1.05)+109.8×(0.654161×1.05)+7.456947=100

New Price: 159.80×(0.890422×1.05)+10.7309=160.14

"I pay 200 cedis a month": Then you will pay 296.25 cedis a month, 48.12% more.

Old Price: 50×(0.326060×1.05)+250×(0.654161×1.05)+4.15×(0.848974×1.05)+7.456947=200

New Price: 300×(0.890422×1.05)+4.15×(1.155595×1.05)+10.7309=296.25

"I pay 400 cedis a month": Then you will pay 568.49 cedis a month, 42.13% more.

Old Price: 50×(0.326060×1.05)+250×(0.654161×1.05)+228.51×(0.848974×1.05)+7.456947=400

New Price: 300×(0.890422×1.05)+228.51×(1.155595×1.05)+10.7309=568.49

"Non-Residential". Mostly commercial. A few examples were given: Hairdressing and Beauty Parlours/Salons, Barbering Shops, Tailoring and Dress Making Shops, Welding, Mechanics, Vulcanising and Carpentry Workshops.

Residential is 0.890422 cedis per unit for the first 300 units.

Non-Residential is 0.837841 cedis per unit for the first 300 units.

So it seems like Non-Residential is more affordable than Residential (except for the Service Charge), but, it is also more heavily taxed. So it is not more affordable.

1. The National Electrification Scheme Levy (some call it "special levy"). = 2%

2. The Public Lighting Levy (some call it "street light levy") = 3%

3. The National Health Insurance Levy (some call it "NHIL") = 2.5%

4. The GETFund Levy = 2.5%

5. The Value Added Tax (VAT, not "flat rate") = 12.5%

2 electricity bill calculators are available in this website: 

1. /2020/02/calculate-cost-of-electricity-in-ghana.html - Old Tariff

2. /2022/08/sep-2022-ghana-light-bill-calculator.html - New Tariff

New tariffs take effect on September 1st.

[SEP 2022] Online calculator for electricity bills in Ghana

Validity:

From: 1 September 2022
Until: 1 February 2023

Compare with http://purcgh-001-site1.atempurl.com/Default.aspx.

To be moved to /p/lightbill.html. Currently, bills from February 2023 onward can be calculated there.

Version 2022-09-01RC4

Residential Non-Residential
Monthly (1 to 31) Shared Meter More Than Once A Month  
Automatic Other (>30 kWh/month) Lifeline (<=30 kWh/month)
13.25% to VAT; CHRL 13.125% to VAT; no CHRL   12.5% to VAT; CHRL 12.5% to VAT; no CHRL
Total kWh 
Total GHS 
Your kWh  
Your GHS  
Next kWh  
Next GHS  

Kilowatt Hours:

Ghana Cedis:

Energy Charge:

Service Charge:

Public Lighting Levy:

National Electrification Scheme Levy:

GETFund Levy:

National Health Insurance Levy:

COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy:

Value Added Tax:

Calculate kWh (units) and money used by an electrical device per month

In a 28 day-month In a 29 day-month In a 30 day-month In a 31 day-month
Don't calculate GHS How much does it use? How much will it use?
According to watts and hours According to ENERGY GUIDE

The electrical device uses ____W, according to its label or its box.

On average, the electrical device is active for ____ hours per day:

According to a yellow ENERGY GUIDE label or the GH Certified Appliances app, the Energy Consumption is ____ kWh/yr:

Kilowatt Hours(kWh):

Ghana Cedis(GHS):

Minimum Ghana Cedis to add after installation:

Maximum Ghana Cedis to add after installation:

Ghana Cedis already paid monthly (Total GHS):

IMPORTANT NOTICE

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

USER MANUAL: 

This calculator should be compatible with the "ECG" price, "PDS" price, "VRA/NEDCo" price, "PURC" price/tariffs, and so on; though it is not affiliated with a regulator or distributor. 

It is intended to work on effectively all browsers with JavaScript enabled, including:

Internet Explorer 6 or newer

Firefox 0.8 or newer

Safari 3.0 (522.11.3) or newer

Chrome 0.2.149.27 or newer

Android Browser 1.6 (3.1.2) or newer

Opera Mini 4.5 or newer

Actual compatibility will differ due to the use of https.

To obtain the cost of electricity, first obtain the wattage of the electrical device. It is located on its box, a label, a mark stamped on, its instruction manual, or its manufacturer's website.

60W is located on an incandescent bulb. Such bulbs have been replaced with more efficient technologies and shall no longer be used.

55W is located on a CFL bulb. This bulb would be brighter, though generally with a different color temperature, if it were to have the same amount of watts as the incandescent bulb.

9W is located on a LED bulb. This bulb would be brighter if it were to have the same amount of watts as the CFL bulb.

Then take note of how many hours per day it is used on average. For example:

1) 5 hours for the 9W bulb (switched on at 6PM - 11PM);

2) 5 hours for the 55W bulb (switched on at 6PM - 11PM).

Use the calculator provided.

For a 31-day month it is 1.395kWh+8.525kWh. A total of 9.92 kWh (Kilowatt Hours) can now be converted to its cost in Ghana Cedis. But it is only valid if nothing other than these 2 bulbs are connected to the meter in the month (1-31), and a margin should be given.

For GH Certified Appliances, download it here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gh.gov.energycom.energyEfficiency

All calculations are approximate. The approximation can cause 0.999999 to be displayed instead of 1.000000.

Update

Perform the calculation, intended for compatibility if it does not automatically refresh.

End-User Tariff (EUT)

Residential

Residential tariff. Non-"End-User Tariffs" are excluded.

Non-Residential

Non-Residential. Mostly commercial. Non-"End-User Tariffs" are excluded. SLT-LV, SLT-MV, SLT-HV, SLT-HV STEEL COMPANIES, and SLT-HV MINES tariffs are excluded.

Mode

Monthly (1 to 31)

The first purchase made in a month or the total of all purchases made in a month, such as January. It is not necessarily a 31-day month.

Shared Meter

The cost per unit for you depends on the total money spent in the month. It can also be used to obtain the energy cost of a machine taking a portion of the total.

More Than Once A Month

For example January 1 then it wasn't enough, once more at January 10. Enter the previous purchase(s) in Total and the new purchase(s) in Next. The initial service charge is excluded.

Customer

Automatic

Automatically removes Lifeline discounts if >30 kWh, automatically applies Lifeline discounts if ≤30 kWh.

Other

All other residential customers.

Lifeline

Those who use 0-30kWh (units) a month.

Tax

These are applied to the non-residential tariff. Select it according to what appears in bills/receipts. Example: 12.5% to VAT; no CHRL. Subject to change, so the highest is selected by default.

Total KWH

Total energy use of all electrical devices connected to a meter, or the amount bought this month.

Total GHS

Total Ghana Cedis of all electrical devices connected to a meter, or the amount bought this month.

Your KWH

Your power consumption (a part of the total); intended for use with a meter being shared with others, or the power consumption of a specific electrical device only.

Your GHS

Your GHS (a part of the total); intended for use with a meter being shared with others, or the GHS of a specific electrical device only.

Next kWh

Target this kWh in the next purchase.

Next GHS

Target this GHS in the next purchase.

Kilowatt Hours

It is sometimes referred to as units or credit. It's the units displayed on meters that's not Ghana Cedis.

Ghana Cedis

Ghana Cedis (currency, GHS). There are 6 digits after the decimal point, because that's determined by the tariffs. Total tax inclusive value.

Energy Charge

Cost of the electricity bought, but it doesn't include the Service Charge or taxes.

A simple explanation: every month, there's 300 of something sold by a shop for 0.890422 Ghana Cedis each + tax. Once you buy all 300, it'll be out of stock and you can only buy it from another shop for 1.155595 Ghana Cedis each + tax, until that other shop runs out of stock. 

'Going to another shop' is done automatically. You do not need to buy units from another location.

'Shops' run out of stock per-meter. The actual cost can differ from what's given by this example.

'Shops' will restock on the first day of each month.

Service Charge

A monthly fee separate from the cost of electricity usage itself. For each meter, the service charge is billed monthly. Those who use 30kWh or less a month pay a "lifeline" service charge instead.

Public Lighting Levy

The Public Lighting Levy. It may also appear in bills or receipts as "Street Light Levy".

National Electrification Scheme Levy

The National Electrification Scheme Levy.

GETFund Levy

The Ghana Education Trust Fund Levy.

National Health Insurance Levy

The National Health Insurance Levy.

COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy

This is not necessarily applied to Non-Residential. Select taxes to calculate according to what appears in bills/receipts. Example: 12.5% to VAT; no CHRL. Subject to change, so the highest is selected by default.

Value Added Tax

It may be calculated in an unconventional way for Non-Residential. Select taxes to calculate according to what appears in bills/receipts. Example: 12.5% to VAT; no CHRL. Subject to change, so the highest is selected by default.

Update (2)

Perform the calculation.

Days

Days in a month.

Mode (2)

Don't calculate GHS

Only calculate the kWh.

How much does it use?

An electrical device that's in use was connected to the meter for a month or more, how much does it use? Remember to specify the amount currently paid every month in "Total GHS".

How much will it use?

A new electrical device is going to be bought, how much will it use? The initial service charge is excluded. Remember to specify the amount currently paid every month in "Total GHS".

How to estimate

According to watts and hours

According to watts and hours.

According to ENERGY GUIDE

Look for an ENERGY GUIDE label or use the Certified Appliances app.

Kilowatt Hours(kWh)

Result of how much the electrical device may use every month. It's the units displayed on meters that's not Ghana Cedis.

Ghana Cedis(GHS)

If the watts and hours or ENERGY GUIDE is accurate, it's the calculated result of how much the electrical device may use every month. The "Ghana Cedis already paid monthly" must also be accurate.

Minimum Ghana Cedis to add after installation

If the watts and hours or ENERGY GUIDE is accurate, this is the minimum anyone will pay after connecting the electrical device to the meter.

Maximum Ghana Cedis to add after installation

If the watts and hours or ENERGY GUIDE is accurate, this is the maximum anyone will pay after connecting the electrical device to the meter.

Ghana Cedis already paid monthly (Total GHS):

Verify that it is correct.