Zambia’s state-run power utility Zesco Ltd. has asked for a 36 percent increase in electricity tariffs to allow the southern African country move towards cost-reflective tariffs, the company said on Thursday.
Zesco was granted a 26 percent hike for the period April 2010 to March 2011, but had asked the regulator to allow it to raise tariffs by a total 36 percent from July, citing inflationary pressures, rising import costs and steep hikes in the price of equipment, said spokeswoman Lucy Zimba.
“We are applying for an average tariff increase of 36 percent for the year 2010/2011 in order to continue on the path to cost reflective tariffs and we hope our request will be granted,” she said.
Zimba said the proposal did not include the copper and cobalt mines, whose tariff was last increased in 2008 under an agreement negotiated by the Copperbelt Energy Corp. (CEC), the country’s largest distributor of power to the mines.
The CEC purchases power from Zesco, which it distributes to the mines in Zambia, Africa’s largest copper producer.
Zesco said prices for copper, steel, aluminium and mineral oil, used to manufacturer machinery, equipment and spare parts used by the power utility, had risen sharply, pushing up its costs.
In order to address the local and regional power deficit, Zesco needs to mobilise huge amounts of funds to be able to invest in new generating and transmission infrastructure.
Zambia has said it needs to invest about $6 billion in the next five years to meet the country’s projected energy needs in the short and medium term. Zesco said it would need the higher tariffs to help foot the bill for the new investments.
But while the hikes would not affect mines directly, they would push up costs of production for the suppliers to the mines, ultimately hurting copper output, said Frederick Bantubonse, the general manager at Zambia’s Chamber of Mines.
“The mines buy from the business community and if the cost of production for the factories increases it will finally be reflected in the cost of mining,” Bantubonse told Reuters. (Reporting by Chris Mfula; editing by James Jukwey)
[Reuters]
again and yet the payers are still getting less services than what they are paying for??….first improve the services, the black outs before increasing……dont tek clients for granted…..
Zesco should scrap the concessional rates it charges the mines. Why i it always in a rush to increase personal tariffs when the mines are paying such low amounts? This is madness!
1. Zesco said prices for copper, steel, aluminium and mineral oil, used to manufacturer machinery, equipment and spare parts used by the power utility, had risen sharply, pushing up its costs
You see how Africans are dim, they give concessions to Choncho man, who gets their copper cheaply to Choncho land, makes the product and sells it at an exorbitant price to the same f o o l s.
2. Zesco was granted a 26 percent hike for the period April 2010 to March 2011, but had asked the regulator to allow it to raise tariffs by a total 36 percent from July, citing inflationary pressures, rising import costs and steep hikes in the price of equipment, said spokeswoman Lucy Zimba.
Inflation doesn`t exist in the dim /Mr Capitalist/Mr Senior Citizen`s stu pid vocabulary yet this.
Zesco said prices for copper, steel, aluminium and mineral oil, used to manufacturer machinery, equipment and spare parts used by the power utility, had risen sharply, pushing up its costs.
The same minerals you f o o l s sit watching Choncho man take away.:d
Why even regulate? Let them increase infact even by 50% because that is the reality and Zambians will tell you tulakwanisha.
Zesco is too lazy to sit down and think of other ways of reducing cost of production other than have it covered by the consumer. It is once again laziness that is at work for Zesco to just expect their intended investments to be borne by consumers via tariff hikes. Zesco don’t be lazy to think, you can do better!
THIS IS CRAZY, RB PLZ DO SMTHING. WE BEG U
# 5 Suntwe people like you need to be caged for life
Our country is full of my labishi! Honestly how does a company expect to survive on it’s minority customer? it gives low rates to CEC who charges the mines high tariffs or at least make huge profits. Your middleman makes huge profits from your product whilst you continue limping. Can they please appoint a business person to run Zesco and not an engineer. Cry my beloved country!
ZESCO needs the money to operationally stay viable
ZESCO charges 1. Fixed charge, 2. Excise duty, 3.V.A.T, 4.TV Licence, 5 Charge for Electricty on the same bill. Services are poor, and now you want to increase again. People time to buy Solar panel, When water People became lazy we dug a well pa Nganda.