Technical Support to Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC)

Country: Ghana

ASI has been advising and building the capacity of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), the water and electricity sector regulator in Ghana to regulate the water sector, especially in light of PSP in the sector. We have been working with PURC since 1999.

Our work focuses mainly on the water sector. A regulatory framework has been developed that protects the interests of consumers, and well as provides a stable environment for foreign and local investors to invest in the water sector in Ghana.

A key element of this project has been capacity building the staff in PURC. Our approach to capacity building has been ‘on the job' training, organising workshops in Accra, attendance in selected international workshops and training programmes, and international study tours. A detailed training needs analysis was conducted that developed the capacity building approach in this consultancy.

Key project achievements have been:

Regulatory framework (legal, regulatory regime) developed and now under full implementation. Two major price and performance reviews have been undertaken in the last 10 yrs
The regulatory framework addresses pro-poor and social issues - a key innovation developed by ASI
PURC lead in piloting several initiatives for cost effective service deliver to poor which resulted in better targeting of investment decisions for service provision to the poor
A water quality monitoring regime developed, piloted and now under full implementation
Assisted PURC conduct effective PSP process
Customer complaints processes developed and now under implementation
A comprehensive public education campaign was launched which familiarised the citizens with the role of PURC
ASI undertook a comprehensive organisation review (organisation structure, HR policies) and recommended improvements both in organisation structure and HR policies
On going capacity building support from 1999 which now ensures that PURC is one of the most developed and successful regulators in Africa. This is further demonstrated by the number of other regulators from Africa coming for study trips to visit PURC

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