THE Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) yesterday said it had turned down an application by the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) seeking to hike energy tariffs by a massive 49%.
by PAIDAMOYO MUZULU
Zera chairperson, Ester Khosa said the electricity tariff would remain at 9,86cents/kWh for the remainder of 2016.
“In coming up with the decision to retain the current tariff levels, we considered the performance of the economy in 2014 and 2015, the government’s efforts to improve the ease of doing business and to support the government in reducing the cost of doing business,” Khosa said.
“There is need for utilities to improve efficiency levels, as well as implement cost-cutting measures and our decision was also taken in the view of the concerns raised by various stakeholders during public consultations on the review application.”
The regulatory authority said it would hold further consultations and implement a study on energy pricing before reviewing electricity tariffs in 2017.
Khosa urged ZETDC to reprioritise new projects, improve revenue collection given the high levels of debt and reduce losses.
Zimbabwe is currently importing nearly half of its daily electricity requirements from South Africa, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as local producers are operating at below capacity.
