Zimbabwe will have to brace for more price increases as electricity tariffs will be now reviewed monthly at inter-bank market rates. This is meant to be a means to guarantee the availability of electricity in the country.
This was said by Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) holdings acting group chief executive officer, Engineer Patrick Chivaura while addressing the 2019 Water, Energy, Climate, Industry (WASHEN) conference.
The monthly review comes into effect at the end of this month (October). This also comes hot on the heels of a 200% tariff increase announced by Zesa on Friday.
Defending the stance, Eng. Chivaura said that it’s better to have high tariffs than to have no power.
“Ordinarily the cabinet of Zimbabwe made a very bold review of tariffs which has never happened before, we were cost-reflective tariffs where we can now prepare real work being the maintenance of ZETDC lines and maintenance of equipment of power stations that we have not been able to do.”
“ZESA is the biggest company in the country there is no way such a company with the tariffs that we have had in the country particularly this year can perform, it was just digging a hole which ZESA is now sinking in,” he said.
Presenting his 2019 Mid-Term Monetary Policy Review statement in July, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube increased electricity tariffs for domestic consumers from an average of ZWL$9.66c/kWh to an average of ZWL27c/kWh (US3c/kW).
Zesa will be going the same route that has been taken by the fuel sector where prices are going up on a weekly basis in line with the changes in the money market.
This will mean Zimbabweans will have to contend with the Zesa tariff increase on top of the increases in the prices of basic goods.
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