The Role of Public Relations in Creating Understanding of the Work of Public Regulatory Institutions: A Case Study of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC)

Abstract

This study investigates the role of Public Relations (PR) in enhancing public understanding of the work of regulatory institutions, with a focus on the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) of Ghana. Regulatory bodies like PURC are essential in overseeing public utilities such as electricity and water but their roles and decisions are often misunderstood by the public. Thus, the study explores how effective PR strategies can bridge this communication gap, fostering transparency, accountability and public trust. Its main objective is to explore how best the PURC can use PR in obtaining public understanding of its regulatory work. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research analysed PURC’s PR practices, including media engagement, public outreach and digital communication tools to assess their impact on public perception and understanding of regulatory activities. The study sampled views from 10 respondents for the face-to-face interview while 115 consumers responded to the questionnaire. In all, 125 responses were received from consumers, staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Ghana Water Limited (GWL) and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC). In selecting the samples, both purposive and stratified random sampling techniques were employed to effectively capture a representative and insightful sample. The key findings highlight several critical areas where PURC's communications are working well and others where there is considerable room for improvement. Public support for some of the strategies, challenges that PURC has been facing in communicating with its stakeholders and opportunities to engage with its diverse stakeholders came out quite clearly from both quantitative data generated through surveys, as well as qualitative insights derived from interviews conducted in this study.