ZESCO has applied to the Energy Regulation Board to allow it to more than double the cost of electricity for all customers except mining firms to attract investment into power generation.
According to a statement from ZESCO, the cost of electricity for commercial users will increase from November 1 to 0.88 kwacha per kilowatt hour from 0.31 kwacha per kilowatt hour should the firm get the go-ahead to raise tariffs from the ERB.
Next elections will be very interesting indeed. by doing this they have effectively killed the goose that lays golden eggs.
Well do not blame someboy else for this increase. Accept responsibility, that what real leaders do.
bring the increment on and see wat wil happen to yo jobs and that of the visionless president together with all panga family mps in the 2016 general elections..come what may kuya bebele
just say the ****ing load shedding has reduced your revenue stupid ZESCO, what investment are you talking about, every time want to increase you always say that investment , I have been hearing this bla bla bla since 2009. but alas not this has changed.
And only yesterday, the leading “light” (ioi) of PF “intelligentsia” (lol), Chief Government Spokesperson ChishimbaHon. Kambwili was quoted saying:
“… that the depreciation of the Kwacha has not affected the millers in anyway because the maize they have now was bought last year and at a reduced price…”
Of course you are right Hon. Kambwili, from now on, millers should use either charcoal or candles to power the mills.
Buffoonery at its worst.
@ IQ I may add that even the price of charcoal and candles have gone up.
@ Misango Yaba Chaimani
Point taken. Only one “fuel” left, life stock dung for bio-gas?
Somehow, PF will need HH (lol)?
Tighten your seat belts people, we are in a storm.
Prophets of doom and devil worshipers..mwachepa sana…you can pray and pray for PF and Lungu downfall but I can assure you that you will see exactly the opposite of what you are praying for……
2016 Kolopa reloaded
2016 vote PF ( Edgar )
I thank you
What other f*ck-up are you planing?
And I thought the only wanted to increase by 25%…this country has definitely gone to the dogs!!
Why should Zambians be paying more than the mines per kilowatt hr? Why should we be subsidizing the mines, who are actually even evading taxes? This is nonsense of its highest order. Why are we being squeezed like this from all sides? Is this Govt still expecting us to continue living? Mealie-meal prices are up, everything is going up and now ZESCO wants to more than double the charge per kilowatt hour! Next it will be fuel and the upward spiral again will re-ignite. Please feel pity on us. This is too much to bear.
They need to see the impact also in Volumes in those watts to be sold on that Increased Tariff COST VOLUME ANALYSIS Flexi it nicely Check the elasticity in other forms of renewables such as solar and Gene sets and see the loss in revenue that can arise
With an increase of IPPs many are installing there own capacities on roof tops solar and generating sufficient to even sell to Zesco The increment is okay to attract investments but it has to be at a level where the “‘elasticity’s”‘ to move to off grid are low to ensure protection of revenue given the leverage
Certain Customers are moving heavily at a faster rate to off grid solutions and the…
increase no one stopping you we shall meet next year.
Don’t expect this to do much to attract new investment as they say. Although the increase may be large and politically explosive in Kwacha terms, it is now very little in forex terms (from K0.31 or about $0.05 per KwH at the old exchange rate to K0.88 or about $0.07 at the new rate and still far below other rates in the region and around the world!) which is what an investor will think about, particularly since many materials must be sourced from abroad. ZESCO’s continued monopoly on distribution and supply is another disincentive to invest as is the ERB itself since the government will continue to set prices and not the firm or the market.
Simply put, unless these other issues are addressed I fear the price increase is more about compensating ZESCO for its inefficiencies and losses…
So where did you copy and pastethis? Which customers are moving to off grid….there is no cohesion in your submission. ..being intelligent is not about misusing big words but having the ability to communicate across all levels.
@ Jay Jay, I trust you are referring to the comment by the self-proclaimed “financial analyst” Jonathan what-what? I assure you, mine was definitely not a copy and paste job and agree with you that being an analyst requires much more than inane jargon. Truth be told, I wonder if Mr. Jonathan even understands the words he is using. He certainly does not understand how to construct a sentence.
Cheers.
Which electricity are they increasing? The 12 hrs that is supplied or the 12 hrs that is not supplied? Answer me using a venn diagram
Great. Well said.
..this is really laughable…the reason advanced for the increase is unreasonable….this is a free market economy….let the investors come in and chare premium rates if they so wish…if their product will be 24/7 continuous supply people will subscribe to them….similar diabolic reasons why Vodafone cannot be registered because they will drop the market price…can you imagine that…??…current ZESCO tarrifs are very high….imagine the company operating at half production as the current situation is with ZESCO….but are able to meet all other obligations…paying workers..suppliers..running the fleet of vehivles..and fulfilling social responsibility…that K8m school rehabilitation they accomplished recently….without any fuss…imagine what they reap when they are on full…
Including the free electricity for all the employees
ON THE SABBATH 17/10 WE SHALL REST AND WORSHIP OUR GOD.
ON SUNDAY THE 18/10 YOU SHALL WORSHIP YOUR NATION YOUR GOD.
Give me power 24/7 for 365 days then INCREASE,i will understand.Not MATUVI aya yamene muchita ba ZESCO. LOADSHEDDING has led to a huge DROP in your REVENUES so you want us the poor people to SUFFER whilst the RICH MINING FIRMS pay PEANUTS for there POWER.Come 2016 i will vote for anybody but PF.We need some fresh ideas,maybe we can achieve something.Most of the Politicians we have are recycled i.e both opposition and the ruling….hence the nonsense we are going through as a nation today!! I AM A PATRIOT BUT AM VERY SAD WITH THE HAPPENINGS IN OUR ZAMBIA.
Let ZESCO streamline operations by reducing overheads. That’s what sensible management is all about.
Well I see The intention to increase good But If you follow the ENERGY sector and see how people have in view of the load shedding paid consideration to ”Independent Power Producers” then you will see why the TARIFF scenario should be priced to ensure ELASTICIES are taken care of You have not seen shopping malls Farms and some Maximum demand customers Putting up Huge Solar Power plants of more than 1500 KWp commercial enterprise You are competing with a slim customer base and tariffs to activate local Industries must ABSORB all sectors Do not also compare ineffective and Highly Leverage Utilities in the PACK and say still cost reflective In exports you need to…
and say still cost reflective In exports you need to realise returns before others develop capacity and dump your contracts as the build programmes actualise Do not misquote me the tariff increase is okay but justification and consideration for all Customers to ensure REVENUE protection for LONGTERM sustainable GRID development If Gov. decides to broadly open up to IPP The impact on sales could be an issue
The Thinking in the sector by ERB and Minister of Energy is very Okay including the current BUILD programmes I am sure they will analyse further the whole customer base from Maximum demand residential and social to ensure a balanced ABSORBING tariffs trajectory Capital investments in energy is strategic and all should support that but must weigh the Risks ,business continuity in planning, dialogue and checking the trends affecting the business in operational sales and Financial embracing those risks seeing the exposure long-term I like the initiatives that I heard from Zesco on ZNBC on demand side energy management efficiency solution The Elder man was good He knew what he was…
The Elder man was good He knew what he was saying Its two Fold and gradual migration in a sustainable way not a Zero SUM game for all
The new tariff increase for small commercial by 290% and larger industries by 350% are counter productive. Meanwhile a domestic consumer using 500 units will see a slight reduction in their bills. The production sector has to subsides the consumer as well as the mining sector for whom there is no mention of a tariff increase and no taxes contributions to the govt treasury. The domestic load is the most sensitive to reduction in usage with price increase. The commercial and the farming load can only reduce significantly by stopping production. That is crazy to do. The mines are only contributing holes in our country yet there are enjoying the low power tariff
You used more then $500million of Zambian pipos money already at kariba, why should the pipo pay more or was that money stolen as usual??
We knew this would come, just waiting for the hike in fuel prices to complete this depressing chapter and then everything else shall follow suit. Chishimba is now running a true commandist economy in every sense, declaring and ordering price freezes on everything that is rumoured to be on its way up.
And remember that is in Kwacha, the real tariff is already eroded even though it sounds high.
We have to bite the bullet on tariff issues unless we want to go from load shedding to blackout.
Unless he is an ignorant economist or economic manager, even HH knows that this is necessary but of course he will take advantage of it for his purported journey to state house.
Be assured that you will not die, you Zambians, you will simply adjust to reality and life will go on no matter what HH says about this..
I did not know we had a minister of energy in this country.
I EXPECTED THIS TO HAPPEN WHEN LOAD SHEDDING STARTED.
THE POINT IS THAT REVENUES FOR ZESCO HAVE DWINDLED AS ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION HAS OBVIOUSLY REDUCED. NOW THE DULL ZESCO MANAGERS NOW WANT THE GENERAL POPULACE TO PAY MORE FOR LESS POWER CONSUMPTION.
THEY SHOULD DO WHAT THE MINES HAVE DONE. REDUCE THE LABOUR FORCE STARTING WITH THE BLOATED MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE.
THE PROPOSAL IS OUTRAGEOUS. GOVT SHOULD DISMISS IT WITH THE CONTEMPT IT DESERVES.
We are so getting used to Gensets, charcoal and gas that we dont need zesco at all. Zed ni ku mushi nomba