The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) has approved Zambia Electricity Supply Company (ZESCO)’s request to increase electricity tariffs by 25.6%.
This follows ZESCO’s earlier application to ERB to authorise the increment of electricity tariff of up to 36% which the power utility company proposed. ERB Chairperson Sikota Wina announced the adjustments at a Press briefing in Lusaka today.
ZANIS reports that Mr. Wina said the board arrived at its decision to approve the 25.6% increase after considering submissions from both the power utility company and the general public.
He explained that the new tariffs would take effect from August 1st, 2010 to 2011 and would be applied according to customer categories.
Once effected, residential customers would be paying K376.09 per kilo watt hour representing a 41% instead of the 69% tariff increase which ZESCO applied for while large power consumers would now be paying K320.54 per KW hour representing
a 12% increase.
For the small power consumers, the tariffs have increased by 15% equal to K280.32 per KW hour instead of the 14% the utility company applied for. 27%increase has been slapped on commercial customers and 33% increase would be effected for
the services tariff.
The Board Chairperson hoped that ZESCO would generate adequate resources to operate commercially and profitably after the 25.60% tariff increase.
Meanwhile, the board has recommended that Government should consider recapitalising the power utility company if it was to operate efficiently saying that it was under- capitalised.
The board has also observed that ZESCO’s receivables were still high and that Government should liquidate the debt it owes the power utility company.
Mr. Wina further added that ZESCO should accelerate the installation of pre-paid meters in all Government departments and urged the company to be proactive in debt collection.
He stated that it was imperative that the tariffs in the country were cost reflective to encourage more investment in the energy sector especially in light of the power deficit.
And speaking in a separate interview, ZESCO Managing Director Ernest Mupwaya said the power utility company was happy with the approved tariff adjustments.
Mr. Mupwaya noted that the increment would help the company cover operating costs and serve its customers more efficiently.
ZANIS
ABASH ZESCO. IS BAD NEWS AND A SAD DAY.
This quite logical:
1. Elections approaching
2. Money needed for campaigns
3. Zesco to fund the campaigns
4. Increase tariffs and collect more money to put in MMD’s coffers!
its painful hope the increament will help zecso improve services. its like the whole region is affected by electricity tarrifs worse off eskom in south africa. we now invite ba kaponya to come up with their vile
MONEY FOR COMPAIIGNS
I agree with comments in 2.ZESCO should also not increase salaries at leastr for two years.the problem with ZESCO is that it always shifts it’s problems to customers.We are not seeing any improvements in services aprt from buying recycles generators which frequently breakdown
Solution is to liberalise the Energy Sector. Simple. Zesco will then collapse as no one will be buying power from them.
Yes! This is campaign money. May nature fully take care of these anti-Zambians. So far so good. Luck is on our side. Most are paying for the results of spending our money on prostitutes. I was going to ask where parliament is but maybe they cant do anything even if they could.es
#3 As you said , no shortage of kaponyas on this site #2, #4. They think Electricity grows free of charge on trees at Kulima Tower. In South Africa Eskom will increase electricity for the next 3 years for at an anual rate of 25%. Would you call that campaign money? You forget that demand for electricity is going up everywhere in sub-Saharan Africa due to economic activities and growth and we need to invest in more capacity if you are to avoid blacks outs. stop being myopic.
It is such a shame that with the Internet people can’t even be bothered to read about what goes round them, but just rush to attack MMD. Iam sure we shall be blamed for the existance of night and day. They will claim MMD created darkness to rig elections. Just how silly can you get??
#7 Ba Mudala ba Bootlicker. You have a point but please try not to insult othes for not being well informed. Zesco may be one of the cheapest electricity utility in the SADC region. The increase translates to about 56 cents per kilowatt while in SA it has been increased to the average of 92.93 cents per kilowatt. So it is NOT political but economically inclined. Unfortunately the demand is high worldwide. We need to invest more in power generation.
Bootlicking everywhere won’t help. How does bootlicker reconcile a situation where Zesco employees pay almost nothing and the ordinary man mending shoes or woman selling roasted maize and groundnuts on the roadside pays probably K300,000 per month? Equity in application should be followed. People are not complaining for nothing. You imagine the ripple effects? People will fail to pay and go back to plunder forests, climate change, famine, death ultimately. Is this what Bootlicker desires? Zesco should be making pushing for subsidies to make power affordable to the lesser privileged. It’s indeed clear MMD wants money for campaigns, so ordinary people to finance it. Let’s say no to such brazen abuse. Actually I hope HH will make this a campaign issue.
Katwishi uku tuleya nomba…while electricity,water etc are increasing,,,salaries are stagnant..WHY? while others are touring the world, we dont even have power because we cant afford to pay..with this increase KAYA….but salary story ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii……WHY? NALEKA!!!!
Chi B.E.N K.A.N.G.W.A you have come again with your filth mouth,you are just displaying your dullness,it does not mean that we all lick our bosses asses to survive..there is ever power interruptions in Zambia and you cannot compare Zambia to South Africa,that is a developed nation..so go lick your bosses asses for lunch..we know its for campaigns..
#7 MMD Chief Bootlicker- It is not a question of being a Kaponya, we are complaining because here at home we are not able to meet our needs. You can talk like that because you are fully looked after by the piper.It is you former Unipians who are ready to support anything MMD without looking at the other people’s situations.
Does this mean the tariffs for ordinary Zambians has been increased by 41% while country resources looters like Lumwana, Kansanshi and KCM will only be paying 12%???
Someone clarify. How is this affecting how much the Looters are paying?
ilyashi lya SALARY ati shani, since fyonse mwalunda…(u av increased everything how about our SALARIES?)..even those that lick will cry one day,,,NALEKA!!
The solution is to unbundle ZESCO period! And sell it as separate entities. Unbundle the Power Generation, Distribution and Construction. Let the Kariba North Bank, Kafue, Ithezi thezi Dam and the small power utilities go to seperate companies.
A hike of 25% is criminal and unjustified.
There is one sensible person on this blog. #13 Keen has manage to point out that the poor will pay 41% more while the foreigners that are ripping off the country only have 12% increase. Can the geniuses like #7 explain why this is so. What economic decision is this?
we have no hope as the majority Zambia to ever enjoy our resources especially that people we hoped might challenge this selfish government have now resorted being tribal an plainly s.t.u.p.id. The so called PACT
This is what CBU must have protested against.
Anyway-Let those who know how to argue nonsically go ahead, as for me HH has lost it-look where he is going now.
1. Zesco made a lot of money in exports the last 2 or 3 years and are still doing so.Now we should pay bigbellie’s consumtions as well. I wonder whether they plough back this revenues or depend on such hiking of tarriffs
2. Zesco and ZRA are two firms that have money which they make from poor zambians -why cant we liberate the energy sector?
3. Are all Zesco requests to hike tarriffs going to be approved all the time they are made?None has ever been turned down.
4. Does that translate in few outages?
5. Is our country’s economy benefiting from this? I doubt it.We are preaching empowement to zambians and yet behind…
This is what CBU must protest against. But not destroy someone’s hard earned car and let MMD enjoy the ride!!!
Poor judgment by the future leaders of our country.
Mupwaya-just wants to make a name out of it. I wonder whether Mr Wina’s comments about taking into consideration-the plight and sentments of the populace was taken abored? But am sure he is a finished politician who is happy to sit there. Why are we even taking old,finished folks onto such boreds-as chairmen,a chairpersons?
Its a Very Good idea for ZESCO to increase electricity tariffs if its customers will afford to pay; although it very economic suicide and foo-lish should it turn out that very few will afford to pay.
It will not be surprising if ZESCO ends up winding up.
MMD Chief Bootlicker said : “You forget that demand for electricity is going up everywhere in sub-Saharan Africa due to economic activities and growth and we need to invest in more capacity if you are to avoid blacks outs. stop being myopic.”
These so called ”economic activities” that are driving up prices for poor Zambians are mainly mine activities by foreigners. The foreigners who are not being taxed correctly when the price of copper soars. These foreigners who are paying less tax than I do. Why are I’m I being asked to pay ( essentially subsidize) these economic activities I don’t benefit from? Can someone explain how this makes sense without merely quoting what some other country has done?
correction
…although it very…
should read …..it will be economic …
“Once effected, residential customers would be paying K376.09 per kilo watt hour representing a 41% instead of the 69% tariff increase which ZESCO applied for while large power consumers would now be paying K320.54 per KW hour representing a 12% increase.”
Interpretation: The mines cause the shortage by consuming the most BUT ordinary Zambians should pay more per Kilo watt hour. AND the ordinary Zambians will continue getting affected by load-shedding to make sure the mines are happy.
And yet the same poor ordinary Zambian does not benefit from the activities of the mines because (1) the mines are not being taxed properly (2) the mines don’t care to develop the areas they making billions of dollars from, apart from much trumpeted donations that are just an pocket change designed to dupe the simple minded.
Zambians = 41% increase.
Foreign Owned Mine Companies: 12% increase.
Justice for you.
Well this sad but nessecary. It is not in doubt that people are struggling to survive and this increase in tarrifs will make life tougher for consumers. Om the other hand though electricity is not like manna from heaven, its needs to be generated, transmitted and distributed so consumers do need to pay the price, if they dont who will subsidise, it will end up being the government through taxes and this is missaplication of resources.
Other good points are government should liquidate its debt, ZESCO should look at its cost structure and work on the KPI’s like number of metered consumers and reduce illegal connections. There is also need to shed light on the reason that commercial consumers are paying less
Vernon akafumo kalabwela! Another 11 kg muli Dora…and several litres of shakeshake for ama MMD cadres amalofwa. Whar a cursed country!
Yaba zesco is heavy in debt,zra for example the company is owin zra trillion en instead of the govt helpin it t sort out its many nkongole ther a passin the problems of the company t inocent zambians,iwe chi bootlicker we know abt the situation in the sub-region bt the hike is too much 4 a common zambian,u can yap now bt u wil shrink after year,na ma-Live yamene mukonda!
The problem of ZESCO is a cash flow issue and not really the price. ZESCO need to take up the following steps:
1. install prepaid meters in all GRZ depts so that these chaps start paying for electricity before they start consuming it. This way ZESCO’s account will always be fat with cash
2. Start the prepaid meters installations from rural areas. Chaps in rural areas are difficult to disconnect compared to us in Lusaka. Again ZESCO will be awash with cash in their bank account compare to now where they only thing they have to show off are debtors
3. Then install prepaid meters in urban areas
With the above two steps, ZESCO like MTN and ZAIN will be a cash cow. Now with cash in your hands just like at individual level, ZESCO can do a lot. It will be able to pay every one on time.
Chi B.E.N K.A.N.G.W.A(MMD Chief Bootlicker) you have come again with your filth mouth,you are just displaying your dullness,it does not mean that we all lick our bosses asses to survive..there is ever power interruptions in Zambia and you cannot compare Zambia to South Africa,that is a developed nation..so go lick your bosses asses for lunch..we know its for campaigns..
Forget BEN KANGWA (MMD Chief Bootlicker), he is a dull I.D.I.O.T. What he can not earsily comprehend is the fact that ESKOM realise on Coal Fired Power or Nuclear Power Plants, and they need to buy either Uranium or Coal from other parties. With Zesco, its Hydropower, and they do not buy any water anywhere!!! Better go and hide yourselve in the MUSEUM, OLD ASS!!!
Do not compare electricity tariffs in Zambia and South Africa. A miner (section boss) in South Africa gets four times what a miner doing the same job gets in Zambia, in short he has more desposable income. Our government should just pay what it owes Zescolo and Zesco’s cash problems will vanish.
Zesco must look at ways of cutting costs not by charging more to Zambians. Currently employees of Zesco are not paying anything that is one of the high cost areas Gvt must address. Imaging Shoprite employees getting food stuff free of charge and how quickly the company would fold. People, we must not just be leaking any boot for our sake. Think about implications on the economy of the country. Yes power generation costs money but Zesco must also show the people of Zambia they are committed to keep the company running before it is privatised. Remember Zambia Airways collapsed because employees were not contributing to cost cutting. It was free rides from point A to B and back. Before REB impliments the increase let them inform the Nation list of COST CUTTING MEASURES!
One of the better tariff decisions that the ERB has made in the recent past. Challenge is now for ZESCO to live up to what it promised in return and be more accountable and open to the public. This includes timely publication of audited financials, cost containment including the curtailment of the high staffing level etc. Also an important gesture to the general public would be for ZESCO employees to begin paying the full tariff for once and also share the dislocation that this adjustment will create.
For those who believe that unbundling is the panacea, unfortunately it is not. Given the currently depressed prices (even with this increase) the entities that would arise from an unbundled ZESCO would be unviable from the start.
N# 7 we know you know that ZESCO is the chief financier of MMD campaigns.Unless you were absent yesrday when the ERB Chairman clearly stated that ZESCO contributes K9 billion to donations which goes to MMD.He directed that this should be stopped.K9 bilion can go a long way if reenvested in service delivery.Come on man open your eyes blind loyalty is bad.
This is so painful.
So frustrating…such a struggle to survive pa zed.
The Extended RB (ERB) have hit the Zambian people where it hurts most. Shame on your for not being patriotic and kind to the poor Zambians.
No compassion for the poor pa Zambia. Chalo cha Zambia ni hell on Earth! The electricity hike will kill all the little businesses our poor folks survive on. Forget going green pa Zambia vonse vimitengo will be used for charcoal now. Very sad – abashi heartlessness pa Zambia mwebanthu enough is enough.
The intended increase has nothing to do with Zesco sustaining itself. MMD used to get CAMPAIGN funds from ZESCO and ZAMTEL. They can’t do that to Zamtel now and just rely on ZESCO to finance them. In short these MONKEYS want to use the ORDINARY ZAMBIAN to start financing there campaigns. This surely deserves a RED CARD, we need serious thinking Leaders and not these morons.
Ur aguments and questions are not thot thru.Firstly mines donot pay the same amounts we do,being these are corperations,the guys dnt even pay the same kinda tax as us.What the 12% u arguin about translates 2 are billions that these mines will be payin .The questions u shud be asking is why stretch it across 2 the zambian people and why not let others work were u failed.it clear the outages are becoz of incrsed mining.Road are abused and towns liked chingola have poor infrasture yet the kaponyas u cal leaders refuse 2 make adjustments.The fact remains consumers like u and me will always b beneficiary of bad decisions.Zambia is not poor,we just luck true leadership,leaders are either sick or tribalist,old or inexperiencd.I blame us becoz we have the”umuntu palwakwe” mentality lets not…
If zambia were in school it wud be a dull pupil.Theres nothn an investor luvs than a dull pipo 2 give money 2.
I agree with most of the observations above. I would like to urge the Government to carry out a forensic audit of the Zesco procurement department. It is shocking the corruption that goes on in this department. During the Chiluba and Levy era Zesco was the channel for syphoning money by party cadres though over-inflated prices of services and goods sold to the company. We are talking of billions of Kawcha. Can we please have a forensic audit because the woes of Zesco lies in the procurement department.