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ZESCO (Zambia Electricity Supply Company) has asked for permission to increase its electricity tariff’s for 2010/11 by 36 per cent, in line with its roadmap to become self-supporting, according to ZESCO’s Acting Managing Director, Ernest Mupwaya.
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Mupwaya said in the notice of the revision of electricity tariffs to the Energy Regulations Board (ERB): “ZESCO’s current tariffs are still far below the cost-reflective levels required to maintain the power generation and supply infrastructure. ZESCO is thus applying for an average tariff adjustment of 36 per cent for 2010/11 in order to continue on the path toward cost reflective tariffs.”
Mupwaya said that the tariff adjustment would help ZESCO mobilise the huge funds required for investment into the new generation and transmission facilities needed to meet the growing power demand. He said: “Upward trends in demand for electricity indicate that the global economy has begun its recovery, and this will bring about further pressures on the electricity supply and perhaps a return of load shedding if the necessary investments in generation and transmission are not effected.”
Last year, ZESCO applied for a 66 per cent tariff rise, but the ERB only approved a 35 per cent average increase.