Africa-Press – Eswatini. Statistics sourced from the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) indicate that total electricity sales rose by 2.1 per cent (seasonally adjusted) in the first quarter of 2024.
This was slower than 4.0 per cent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023. The growth was largely attributed to an increase in sales to the ‘commercial’ category. Electricity sales to the ‘commercial’ category grew by 2.4 per cent in the quarter under review, compared to 0.9 per cent in the previous month. Notably, electricity consumption by the ‘irrigation power and bulk’ category grew by a slower rate of 3.6 per cent (seasonally adjusted) in the quarter ending March 2024, compared to 5.7 per cent in the previous quarter.
The slower increase can be partially attributed to above normal rains that were experienced during the first quarter of 2024, which might have somewhat reduced the demand for irrigation power. Volume sales to residential customers (i.e. households), on the other hand, declined by a marginal 0.6 per cent (seasonally adjusted) in the first quarter of 2024, compared to growth of 2.0 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Sales
The total number of electricity customers grew by 1.1 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis to record 285 838 connections in the period under review. Meanwhile, the total treated water sales maintained a downtrend, declining by 3.0 per cent (seasonally adjusted) in the quarter ended March 2024, compared to a 0.3 per cent growth in the quarter ended December 2023.
Treated water consumed by the ‘commercial’ category declined by 2.2 per cent (seasonally adjusted) in the quarter under review, compared to a 1.5 per cent growth in the previous quarter. Similarly, consumption by households decreased by 3.7 per cent (seasonally adjusted) in the quarter under review, down from a growth of 0.8 per cent in the previous quarter.
The number of treated water connections from both ‘domestic’ and ‘commercial’ categories, declined by 0.2 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively, during the quarter under review. Furthermore, the CBE highlighted that total fuel import volumes sourced from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy depicted a recovery, increasing by 5.0 per cent (seasonally adjusted) in the quarter ending March 2024, from a 1.2 per cent decline in the quarter ended December 2023.
Activity
The uptick in total fuel import volumes can mainly be attributed to a significant 16.6 per cent increase in diesel import volumes, (which account for 55 per cent of total fuel import volumes). Diesel import volumes benefitted from increased activity in commercial freight during the period under review.
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