Electricity users must pay their bills

EDITOR — Both commercial and domestic users of electricity who owe the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) large amounts of money should heed President Mnangagwa’s call to pay their bills for the power utility to improve its power generation and distribution capacity.

Whilst commissioning the $533 million Kariba South Hydro Power Station project on March 28, 2018, President Mnangagwa said that Zesa was owed over $500 million.

For a nation to owe over $500 million to a power utility company is a major drawback in terms of economic development.

If the value of expanding Units 7 and 8 of Kariba South power station is $533 million, it means the electricity debt being owed to Zesa by clients is as well enough to fund a similar expansion project without a foreign investment partner. All electricity users who are in arrears should make serious considerations and clear their bills.

It is pleasing that expansion of the two units is already adding 300 MW to the national grid, a situation which will lessen the electricity import bill. The nation has been importing 350 MW from neighbouring countries — South Africa and Mozambique — and this has been costing Zesa a lot, leaving it in debt to Eskom and Hydroelectric de Cahora Bassa.

In efforts to help clients to pay up their electricity bills, Zesa has engaged clients to make payment plans that are convenient to them. Among other measures, the utility power company introduced and installed pre-paid meters for most of its clients to help them clear their bills.

Zesa’s initiative was welcomed by many people since it benefits both the consumer and the producer of the power. For instance, users benefit in that they use only the electricity they have paid for rather than paying for estimates.

Normally paying for estimates is much more expensive than pre-payment. On the other hand, Zesa collects 50 percent of what the client owes for every purchase made.

This should enable the consumer and the power utility to meet half way in both settling the bills and supplying power.

Since electricity is a key economic enabler, other private players in the sector should be encouraged to complement Government’s efforts to supply sufficient power to the nation.

The private players should engage the Ministry of Water, Environment and Climate to identify small dams which are not being utilised and construct minihydro electricity power stations.

Such projects will improve local power generation and distribution as well as creating employment opportunities for indigenous Zimbabweans. Chido Chikuni