Thursday, March 28, 2024

Electricity tariff hike by 113% is inevitable -ERB

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File:ZESCO Limited officials inspect the waters at Lake Kariba where the utility firm generates power

The Energy and Regulation Board says the migration towards cost reflective tariffs in the energy sector is inevitable for ZESCO and the economy.

ERB Board Chairperson Raymond Mpundu who officially opened the ERB public hearing on the ZESCO application to vary electricity tariffs in Lusaka today, said the board targets to decide on ZESCO’s application within this month.

Mr. Mpundu said ZESCO in December last year applied to ERB to increase electricity tariffs by 113% for residential, large and small power, commercial and service customers and to revise the connection charges by an average of 213% this year.

He said the board has convened the hearing because it is a legal requirement and also presents an opportunity to enhance transparency in the tariff determination process.

And ZESCO Director of Transmission Webster Musonda said the proposed adjustment is expected to generate over K16 billion Kwacha revenue in the first full year of its implementation.

Mr. Musonda said this will enable the company meet its current obligations and implement its capital investment portfolio.

He said the decision to revise the electricity tariffs is owing to the prevailing Economic Conditions, Changes in the Cost of Generating, Transmitting, Distributing and Supplying Electricity among others.

And in an interview with ZNBC, an energy expert Andrew Kamanga said the revision of electricity tariffs will attract investment in the electricity sector and also ensure that there is reliable supply.

Mr. Kamanga who is also North Western Energy Corporation Managing Director urged Government to open the electricity sector and enable various power companies to find their own customers.

[ZNBC]

29 COMMENTS

  1. Hike the tariff all you want but a few months later you will be asking for another tariff hike because as long as your system of managing your resources remain the same nothing will change and you will be giving the same reasons for your inadequacy you are giving now later on. Has Zesco taken any cost saving measures by reducing that bloated payroll filled with caders and uneducated relatives to caders who don’t know the job but get paid anyway. I pray that another investor comes to invest in electricity generation provide competition to Zasco so that this monopoly won’t affect people and businesses again. Dangote did it and Chilanga cement lost its monopolistic power but the good news is cement prices went down.

    • Apart from hiking electricity and fuel pump prices what else does this board do?
      I mean seriously, when I here ERB, my heart shudders. “Oh my God is it a fuel price or zesco’s electricity tariff hike?”
      Whatever other tasks and obligations they have, they are bad at those but good at hikes.
      ERB needs are complete overhaul or a change of management at the minimum.
      With the recurrence of the energy situation in the country one can’t help but think that the energy policy of the country has taken lazy and sleeping posture.
      Nkhuwa, Zesco CEO, ERB boss, Parliament, IDC and Cabinet should tell the nation when the first signal to the current energy situation started. Be honest with yourselves people.

    • Chi ERB cha chabe chabe! It is a bloated organisation for no reason. DISBAND it quickly so that we get on with our lives.

  2. These are Competent persons who understand The trends in the energy sector,
    Am very sure cabinet will do justice this week in developing a legal framework that opens up the industry,
    they are so many investors who are just waiting for a cost reflective tariff to be implemented, load shedding will be history,
    I Know one investor who is ready to build even one gigawatt solar power plant but it’s only that our grid can only take in 700mw of wind and solar but with investment in storage system, everything is possible

  3. Beware people of Zambia, what has Zesco had show for previous hikes? That 16 billion is for campaigns in 2021 coming out of your own pockets if ask me. There is nothing Zesco has shown to justify previous hikes, all these measures are meant to keep the company liquid for the sake of the caders employed in it. In a time where economic activity is down due to rising costs the last thing this government needs to do is further escalate the cost. My suggestion is allow who ever wants to invest in power generation to come and provide competition to Zesco that’s when they will wake up and begin to work as they should be doing now. Zesco indeed has been a monopoly all these years and monopolistic companies make abnormal profits so where has Zesco been missing this opportunity all along? Only PF…

    • @ blackklansman
      I know it’s painful to see the adverse effects of loadshedding on our economy but i guess you missin the point and big picture here. Just for your information investors are business men and their primary goal is to make profits. But how will they invest their money in an environment that does not represent the interests of their business? The answer to this question is get the electricity tariff right and make sure that ZESCO is seriously restructured. Again whats the role of ERB when they can’t provide oversight to energy companies other than being price implementers only?

  4. Dismantle ZESCO into generation and distribution and let Zesco maintain generation of power to sell to smaller companies. There should be competition among sellers of power to consumers. In this way tariffs will fall. Smaller companies employing fewer people will set tariffs at a level to make a small profit rather that pricing themselves out of the market. It is simple economics. Zesco is to large and cannot generate and distribute power efficiently.

    • Al resulting units will be owned by caders. But most of all, they will not accept to split it. ZESCO is a ruling Party cash cow. Zambians should brace for extreme hardship. Your salaries remain static but everything else goes up by mostly 100% or more. Meanwhile, your so-called Leadership will keep blaming your suffering on climate change.

  5. This tariff hike won’t help Zesco at all. As people become more aware of inefficiencies, unreliabilities and exorbitant pricing at Zesco, they switch and save for real and adopt other forms of energy.
    ERB, Zesco and the Ministry of Energy must have R&D departments. The need to undertake studies viz people and energy vs cost & tariffs in this volatile economy ought to come up with credible findings tied to pragmatic recommendations on the trajectory the energy policy should assume.
    It’s dangerous to use heavy hearts to undertake major uninformed decisions on sensitive issues like energy in this civilized era. Even as you pass on cost on SA imported Energy.
    Use the worse case scenario concept as you step on important decisions.
    Tariff hike at 1000% would not solve Zescos woes.

  6. Just sell zescoro as it cant perform.
    I know Zambians dont like to hear
    That.The truth is zesco has too many problems that they will fail to
    Rectify.Let government keep some
    Shares and let the new buyer run zescoro.

  7. The best we should do is dissolve this ERB thing! Let ZESCO itself convene these formalities of public hearings as they don’t change anything! ERB is already a huge cost to the tax payer and one wonders what their relevance is to our economy if they have lamentably failed to assure Zambians and businesses of economically sustainable energy costs to drive industries! ZESCO should not even expect to raise that much as most customers are already moving off grid! You are failing to pay Maamba. How are you going to pay more investors in energy? Jokers!

  8. When FTJ removed food subsidies, there availability of mealie meal but poverty levels jumped from 56% to 84% which meant that what caused the availability is that people were dying of hunger. When Zesco increases tariffs by 113% they’ll still not raise K16.5BN because few people will by from them. So Zesco is a sinking Titanic

  9. Look at Germany for possible solution to load shedding and the over reliance on hydro electricity. Renewable sources contribute upwards of 2/3 of electricity there. And it’s generated mainly by households who are able to pump it into the grid and are paid by the distributors. Granted, the developed countries can afford to subsidize the installation costs for the individuals concerned, but there is no reason why even Zambia cannot give incentives to private citizens to generate electricity using solar and wind. Alas, Zesco cadres wont have it.

  10. I was forced to invest in a solar inverter system at $3,00 now I have more electricity than I need. However, I cannot not sell to Zesco. Sad! we are a doomed country.

    No mining in the lower Zambezi national Park.

  11. About k16 billion, to meet its obligations of targets. This can only be met when you remove free electricity units for zesco employees, remove unqualified personel ,the so called caders if any, give contracts on merit not on patronage or corruptly way, make sure that all you contracts you give are online so that anyone can bid and you choose the least but not the least, and I think this can been done without asking or spending any ngwee on ERB. I end here.

  12. GOVERNMENT SHOULD TAKE THE BULL BY ITS HORNS AND DO THE FOLLOWING NOW :
    1. DISMANTLE THE COSTLY ERB
    2. DO NOT INCREASE ELECTRICITY TARRIFFS
    3. ZESCO SHOULD BE SUPPLYING ELECTRICITY DIRECTLY TO THE MINES AND NOT THROUGH THE MIDDLE MAN CEC
    4. ZESCO WILL BE ABLE TO RECAPITALISE FROM THE MASSIVE REVENUES OF SUPPLYING TO THE MINES
    5. CURRENTLY ONLY A FEW INDIVIDUALS IN CEC ARE BEING MADE MULTI BILLIONAIRES: JUST GOOGLE AND YOU WILL BE SHOCKED

    I REPEAT: GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT INCREASE ELECTRICITY TARRIFFS

  13. The rubber stamp ERB has already made up its mind so no need even to make submissions. I don’t know why even we need this ERB as the PS energy can simply announce everytime they want to hike.

  14. This shxt started with that ***** of an economist who suggested the hikes with his useless ugly face and stupid manners all in the name of wanting to get a job as a minister of finance, people are already suffering, we pray that PF is goes away in 2021 and for good never to return to the surface of the earth… Never….

  15. “…..The Energy and Regulation Board says the migration towards cost reflective tariffs in the energy sector is inevitable for ZESCO and the economy.

    ERB Board Chairperson Raymond Mpundu who officially opened the ERB public hearing on the ZESCO application to vary electricity tariffs in Lusaka today, said the board targets to decide on ZESCO’s application within this month.”

    The ERB has decided so what is the hearing for?

  16. NO NO You cannot leave the electricity sector unregulated and the regulator must been seen to be in between and listen to the side of the utility and the Customer in this case the sentiment is wrong and those increments pronouncements also The role of utility regulator is to protect the well-being of consumers especially those in low income groups balancing efficiency and priotising prices that reflect the marginal cost of providing electricity and added industrial bench marked Fixed costs understating the nature of our industry and utilities local will help set appropriate tariffs and structure It should also be understood that by nature electricity industry exhibits high…

  17. high operational leverages(fixed costs ),it’s a low marginal cost industry .Once plants and TT lines are constructed ,costs of generating an extra Kwh is normally supposed to fall (diminishing returns) So these new plants and uprated must reflect that and therefore show the efficiencies in cost reduction and marginal increase in tariffs except for those climate risks impacting which could also been foreseen and reinsured with local or munich RE etc

  18. Then unbundling is not the best to create those efficiencies that will reflect in the tariff it will simply as observed in the Now Eskom restructuring strategy failure of the entire system and more overheads created to service individual units So the best is to marginally chase the ever running cost of service tariff and increase volumes with increased segmental services then also embarking on Financial Trans-formative strategies Ultilities global by nature are GRZ owned and of Public Good to service the economy play a role in the GIN(of electricity) and income redistribution That fact or
    role should never be forgotten

    Thus said the process to hear from both sides and see…

  19. what the true costs are should continue as commenced ,Good for the sector and there are no energy experts>

    Will be in attendance to listen confirm my understanding and observe

  20. Has zesco really thought of diversifying energy generation?
    Zesco/PF should not rush always to increase tariffs knowing for sure that this kills the economy.
    When are people of Zambia going to a relief. Nothing good has come out of PF
    Everything you see is disaster
    PF is a disastrous unity in the history of Zambia
    Vote them out in 2021

  21. Why paying for Zesco failure?. Ba Mpundu tekanyeni mwibilima. Zesco tariffs issue is very sensitive matter. You don’t have to talk like that. You don’t know the feelings of many Zambians.

  22. This sudden and marked increase in the cost of energy will destroy the economy, economic advisers, recall the function of governments is to address economic failures and not to pass the ball to the individuals. In this case the government is transferring the full cost of energy to the ordinary people with very low income base.

  23. It is also time for Zesco employees to pay fairly for the electricity they use in their households. Zambian citizens cannot and should not be subsidizing the electricity that Zesco employees use. Basically the sharp rises in tarriffs is due to mismanagement of resources within Zesco.

  24. these people are full of no sense, if they hike the price is that going to make power available to everyone?
    The prices went up this year but power has become a nightmare for all of us now. So what are we paying for or rather who are we paying might the right question.
    Get off scams and do your job you morons.

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