Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>CHIEF executive of the Electricity Control Board of Namibia (ECB) Robert Kahimise has assured Namibians that for the time being, the country will not be affected by constant load-shedding which has become the order of the day in South Africa (SA).<\/b><\/p>\nFor years, Namibia has been depending on SA\u2019s Eskom for its electricity supply, sparking paranoia due to the diminishing power supply capacity of that country to its citizens.<\/p>\n
However, Kahimise told Desert Radio in a retrospective interview yesterday, Namibia has since diversified its energy, tapping electricity from power plants in Zambia and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fear could have been justified due to Namibia\u2019s history of relying on imports from Eskom in SA. What the public probably does not know is that we have reduced our imports from SA and diversified our reliance into the region. We are now importing more from Zambia and Zimbabwe, rather than from SA,\u201d Kahimise said.<\/p>\n
He was, however, quick to maintain that the asset interconnector between Namibia and SA remains in place, through which the country can get about 100 megawatts of electricity, which Kahimise said, almost amounts to nothing, particularly with the ongoing load-shedding in SA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe highest we can get is 100 megawatts and with load-shedding it reduces. It is nothing. It is insignificant [and has] 0,0000% effect because of the big systems they have. But we are getting from Zambia through another interconnector and from Zimbabwe,\u201d Kahimise said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rest is the work of the traders and the Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) to ensure that they optimise what we are getting electricity from the region and what they can sell back into the power pool. We have been given the same assurance that for the foreseeable future \u2013 we are talking about at least up to two years \u2013 Namibians are covered to avoid any load-shedding,\u201d Kahimise said, adding that should there be any change, the regulator will communicate.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for now we want the people to move away from the fears and to focus on industrialising and implementing the country\u2019s strategies in order to create employment and to grow the economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
TARIFFS AND DEBTS<\/b><\/p>\n
Kahimise, who joined the ECB at the helm in April this year from a stint at the City of Windhoek, told Desert Radio that one of his first tasks on the job was to redress NamPower\u2019s debt collection regime, as well as to redress the national electricity utility\u2019s bulk tariff.<\/p>\n
This he said, is in light of the fact that while the ECB is charged with ensuring that licensed entities, including NamPower are financially stable, the parastatal also has a responsibility to look after the country\u2019s broader economy, while considering the concerns and interests of the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have not even been in office for a year. When I arrived, we reviewed NamPower\u2019s bulk tariff. It came in double digits, if I\u2019m not mistaken, I think it was 14% or even higher. We ended up allowing NamPower 8,9% or so and it pushed the tariff just below N$2 of generation for 2023\/24. That was my first priority,\u201d Kahimise said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to ensure that the tariff increases \u2013 which we are responsible for \u2013 do not inhibit any growth and that we continue to attract investment into the sector. On the third leg, we have to consider the concerns in the interest of the public. That is the balancing act that we have to apply as a regulator.\u201d<\/p>\n
Queried on how his administration dealt with debt that was owed to NamPower, Kahimise did not mince words.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt did not go well, I have to acknowledge. [There were] all types of accusations. [But] that is why we are leaders. We are not here to please anyone, but to do the right thing. And the right thing at the time was for the regulator to direct NamPower that rolling out blackouts due to defaulters was not fair in the first place, because even consumers in good standing will be affected. NamPower wanted to switch off Nored with four others,\u201d he said, adding that this would have affected hospitals and customers that depend on Nored as a distributor \u201csimply because the distributor owes NamPower\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why we stepped in. To ensure fairness. We made it very clear that their debt collection strategy is not fair. It was not well received, but we reached some sort of compromise,\u201d Kahimise said, further maintaining that their call was only implemented, but later overtaken by a Cabinet directive which a technical committee has worked on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think early next year we should await the directive from the Cabi<\/p>\n
For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Jeremiah Ndjoze Africa-Press – Namibia. CHIEF executive of the Electricity Control Board of Namibia (ECB) Robert Kahimise has assured Namibians that for the time being, the country will not be affected by constant load-shedding which has become the order of the day in South Africa (SA). For years, Namibia has been depending on SA\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":60412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-60413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\n
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