Thursday, March 28, 2024

ERB Approves ZESCO’s high percentage increase in Electricity tariffs as Fuel Prices go up

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ERB Board Chairman, Raymond Mpundu
ERB Board Chairman, Raymond Mpundu

ELECTRICITY tariffs have been increased for domestic and commercial consumers by about 200 percent and 49 percent, respectively to help Zesco, the supplier, operate efficiently and viably.

And pump prices for fuel have been increased, with the cost of petrol going up by K1.64 per litre. Energy Regulation Board (ERB) board chairman Raymond Mpundu announced these adjustments last night with the new electricity tariffs coming into effect on January 1, 2020. The new fuel prices took effect at midnight.

Mr Mpundu said the hiked tariffs will be used to improve operations at ZESCO which is said to be technically insolvent.

Zambia’s energy utility company charges one of the lowest tariffs in Southern Africa which has made energy investments very unattractive.

Hiking electricity tariffs comes at a time when fuel prices have been hiked by around 10% compounding Zambia’s economic challenges.

41 COMMENTS

    • Give Zesco 1000% tarrif hike, they will still yearn for more hikes.
      I definitely do not support that exorbitant tarrif jump in both Fuel and Power. Cognizant of the fact we don’t rig crude but we can generate more in terms of power.
      Zesco won’t thrive still. Focus, Zesco needs to concentrate on power and drop the ICT project and streamline the workforce.
      ERB is dysfunct. Despite people’s views on tariff hikes, it still want to squeeze the little money in people’s pockets. I feel the hike even when I am not home.
      Every business will pass on the cost to citizens.
      The postmortem will be crucial, though. Let’s watch the ripple effect in prices.

    • HH warned you about this and you called him bitter and under five. Tiye tiye na dununa regret mule sumina bane wait….Meanwhile Dora siliti was this week was saying that the waste has gone, better days are coming.

    • Zambian citizen, how are they going to deliver when they shamelessly still depending on dry kariba? this hike is not justifiable. Zesco has a bloated workforce who are paid hefty for doing nothing! let them start from there!

    • What has happened thorn? Your mouth is dry together with citizen? No words? Or it has hurt you and your family? Good for you. But bad for us, who don’t support s**t but have to suffer because of i***ts like you. Shame.

    • My gals and I will still be voting PF until an able opposition emerges. This is the feeling of most Zambians.
      Otherwise we were warned beforehand about tariffs increases what are upnd supporters complaining about.
      I think Government is right. It is high time we were embarked on cost reflective tariffs.
      We need to consider alternative transport systems and promote electric cars to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and alternative electricity sources to clear Zesco.

    • Let’s hope the increase in electricity will mean better supply of power. They can increase even by 400% as long as they promise constant supply of power. There is no point of low rates but no power

    • 1.7 no shortage of dull heads like you in the country. Thats why we are in this mess in the first place. Too many ma fontini. Eish!

  1. Political appointees have run Zesco aground ,now Zambia’s poverty rate will also increase 200% .Time to elect a new cleaner gov’t.

  2. The kwacha gains in strength and the fuel price goes up ????? The only reason these prices have increased is because their looting bowl is running low !!

  3. GOOD! the only way load shedding is going to go away is if we all start paying the real price of electricity. There will be anger, and gnashing off teeth, but fact is the economy will never get stronger if ZESCO is underpaid per KwH. This won’t be easy people and as you can see in the comments above and below, the moaning is loud. Overly cheap electricity is like a drug addiction for the economy and will take strength and character to wean off. But once ZESCO charges the real price of electricity it will be able to deliver 24/7/365. That is far better for the economy and society then under priced electricity that cannot be delivered.

  4. So PF and ERB had overnight prayers conducted by the religious minister to increase Tariffs, anywhere when God says no to you, he first confuses you so that abnormal things look normal to you, Zesco has too many cadres on its payroll and Management does not know how to cost-saving, all they know is to transfer their costs, if I were in charge of Zesco, I can make it lean and at the same time check out were all the inefficiencies are coming from and correct them, it is only after you have done internal clean up when you can see really if you are making losses, government should not be allowed to abuse Zesco and then pass on the cost to the people who are already heavily taxed, that is treble taxation. BYE BYE PF 2020 will cruise like one month have you seen how 2019 has cruised, it is just…

    • I just bought a pressing iron which uses charcoal, gas stove and bicycle.Happy dark and walking new year.In the meantime am playing a dununa song.

  5. ERB for change must look at the cost component of ZESCO and not always looking at price increments. What is driving the cost to go up, is it neccesary? We hear from Chanda Nyela that Komaki was employed by Zesco. How many of such are employed, do they have right qualifications.

    • ECL himself has appointed cadres as permanent secretaries and directors in various ministries. That can never be right

  6. like one month, eyes on the ball, eyes on the ballot, buy pointed shoes and keep your eyes on their balls, time to kick them out is drawing near and with pointed shoes, it will be painfull, well done ERB. KEEP SCREWING US UP.

  7. I have a very strong feeling that the hike for zesco tariffs is ridiculously unreasonable. You can’t jump to hike the price of any commodity by 200%. What are you up to? To socially kill your citizens? I think zesco has outlived its usefulness capitalising much on its monopoly. Of late, Zamtel does not increase the price of their mobile services because it has competitors in the market. Zesco needs the same competing scenerios. We are not opposed to zesco’s hiking of its tariffs but not to those levels of 200% honestly. What is the use of asking the opinions of the people if you have already decided the fate of the price increase? Most people argued against the tariff increase but you go ahead and hammer them hard. Is it not a mockery and waste of resources to have people gathered…

  8. Cont…to hear their opinions but completely ignore what they said? What i know is that zesco will never improve on its efficiency despite these price increases that are just burdened on the poor people of Zambia. I request the indulgence of His Excellency the President because zesco is 100% owned by the Government and hence the President can come in to save the situation.

  9. To think changing government will bring prices of goods down is self deception. Electricity is scarce due to lack of Investment in the sector by successive governments. What we should hold pf account for is the corruption and failures related to the period they have been in power. Prices of goods and services are going up globally.Personally the only issue I have with PF is the fight against corruption. Some ministers should leave public office even if the courts acquitted them because they are not acquitted in the minds of Zambians who they claim to lead.

  10. PF is running out of ideas, or their corruption is catching with up to them. In the midst of load-shedding, you increase the prices. Ridiculous to be throwing more money at an inefficient institution, this is just like trying to fill up a bucket with a hole at the bottom. The management is also very useless, only a useless president like ECL will keep them around. South Africa took action and fired people. Thorn in the flesh, talk to your bosses, taxing citizens is not the solution. You can’t resort to taxing citizens every time to fix simple issues like this. Cut down on corruption and waste, because this increase is not going to help in the face of rampant corruption

  11. There is one thing i like about European & Western politics, when a person has failed, they gladly accept it & step aside. That is a taboo in Africa

  12. When the increase was first announced, meno meno pretended to intervene. There were cameras all over and running commentaries about the listening government. So what has changed?

    Zesco never talks about reflective cost reduction. The only thing they know is employ a lot of relatives and cadres and push the costs on poor Zambians. I know someone will say gays have a role in the price increase.

  13. How do you increase the service that you are failing to provide by that margin (200%)? You first of all improve on the service delivery then effect the increment, what do these people do in their offices every time they report for work? Nothing positive has ever from Zesco apart from effecting increaments and announcing loadshading times being increased. Is this the best we can do as Zambian? Even if they increase by that margin what guarantee is there that there will be no loadshading? We know 2021 is around the corner, its the issue of fattening the cow before slaughter. ERB my foot, why do you even exist?

  14. Where did the 200% come from?
    It is actually about 73%.
    Why didn’t ERB put it in writing so that there is no miss information.

  15. ZESCO has undersold the units because of loadshedding. Now they must make the cash by raising the tariff on the back of fuel price hikes.

    While we need to keep ZESCO from privatisation, we need a competitor just as we have a mobile telecommunications.

  16. Zesco chaps just good at wearing suits as though they have brains and yet they are very useless. The effect of cadrerising vital institutions leads to such results. If I had a way, I would have loved to know board allowances and salaries and other allowances in zesco before I could agree to paying of these high tariffs. Is this the “More money in your pockets” Mr Sata campaigned on (MHSRIP)? I am mawless!!! What is next to increase-water tariffs?

  17. Come on people wake up. How many times has Zesco hiked prices in the PF regime alone? And what good has come out of it? Even the current hike won’t do Zesco any good because they have to first cut on costs. It’s a problem of leadership that Zesco and Zambia both have. Why keep a bloated workforce when you barely generating electricity. For government merge the following ministries, religious with chiefs and traditions, housing with national development and planning or one of these with lands, agriculture and fisheries, general education with higher education, and remove minister of presidential affairs, merge energy and water development too.

  18. Lets celebrate into the new year with hikes in almost anything starting from water to food via malaiti. The idea is to kill all of us who are not PF before 2020 so that the surviving PF cadres can vote for them. PF cadres are eating with them so there no problem. What a strategy and what a disaster.
    The good news is we shall not die we shall be there to vote you out and take you to prisons. Watch the space.
    Disaster!!!!!

  19. For the president and Zambia’s sake. Dissolve the whole of this FAKE-SCO ( ZESCO ) board. Get rid of the entire E(RB – Rupiah Banda )RB board. Get rid of the energy minister. Talk about a clueless person. Then Trip ZESCO’s directors. If not their numbers, cut their salaries by half. Immediately.

  20. Where can we as the people start a petition to the president. Zambians in mass call the office of the president, plus energy ministry. Continue calling until the president responds and acts. Zambians you are too sleepy, it is time to wake up.

  21. ZESCO employees get free 1000 units every month .
    ZRA employees are not exempted from paying Tax .
    ZESCO like ZRA ,BOZ,.NAPSA are quasi GRZ institutions then why this arnomaly.
    GRZ MUST stop free electricity coupons to zesco employees immidiately.
    Poor zambians are strugling to buy electricity units when already comfortably overpaid ZESCO employees are getting it for free.

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