NamPower celebrated the inauguration of the Auas-Gerus 400-kilovolt transmission line near Dordabis in the │Khomas Region.
This project is part of Nampower's plan to expand its infrastructure and aims to make Namibia energy self-sufficient by 2030.
Key figures from the energy industry, the governor of |Khomas, and other invited guests assembled for the inauguration of the Auas-Gerus 400kV transmission line.
Consumers are expected to fork out more from their pockets for electricity as of July 1st, as the Electricity Control Board (ECB) approved an 8% bulk tariff increment.
This means the current N$1.98 kilowatts per hour has now increased to N$2.14 kilowatts per hour for the 2024–2025 financial period.
Making the announcement in Windhoek today, ECB's Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kahimise, revealed that initially, Nampower applied for a bulk tariff increase of 14.9% for both generation and transmission tariffs.
Ten of the electricity licence holders who have not applied for their annual review with the Electricity Control Board (ECB) were accorded amnesty.
ECB initiated to adjust their annual tariff from October 1st, 2023, for post-paid and prepaid; the effective date is October 24th, 2023.
||Kharas Regional Council, Berseba Village Council, and Gibeon Village Council were accorded a 10% tariff adjustment, although they didn't apply for their annual tariff hike.
To date, the City of Windhoek has electrified 4,215 households in Windhoek's informal settlements.
This was revealed at the inauguration of the Informal Areas Electrification Project in Windhoek today.
These houses were electrified during the last five years of the previous 5-Year Electrification Plan 2017–2022, which lapsed during the last financial year 2022–2023.
The electrification project was funded by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development and NamPower, with a combined capital investment of around N$45 million.
Energy supply tops the agenda of the ministerial meeting between Namibia and South Africa.
The meeting preceded the third Bi-National Commission (BNC) of the two Heads of Sate.
During the opening of the Ministerial Meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation urged NamPower and Eskom to strengthen existing cooperation on power supply and interconnectivity.
Local authorities have highlighted concerns over Nampower's prepayment installation rollout.
The bulk electricity supplier aims to convert all its distributing customers' conventional metres into pre-paid metres by July 2025.
Nampower engaged stakeholders on the prepayment system installation project at a meeting held at Keetmanshoop.
Local authority representatives maintained that the requirement to prepay electricity may lead to frequent power supply disconnections.
The President of the Trade Union Congress of Namibia, Mahongora Kavihuha, believes the high cost of electricity in the country is a result of NamPower not living up to its mandate of producing electricity locally.
Kavihuha made this remark at a media conference.
The NamPower 2022 report indicates that Namibia imports 71% of its electricity from neighbouring countries.
Kavihuha says the power utility has proven ineffective in its duty to generate electricity from locally available and cheap resources.
National power utility, NamPower’s debt collection plans have been cut short after Cabinet intervention.
NamPower was due to affect Stage 2 of power cuts on Monday and Tuesday this week, between 17H00 and 21H00.
Cabinet, however, directed the power utility not to continue with its debt collection plan, saying that the line ministries would meet and discuss the huge debt owed to Nampower by local authorities and NORED.
Nampower last week defied the Cabinet directive and forged ahead with the power cuts.
NamPower has issued a statement clarifying why it defied a Cabinet directive instructing the power utility not to forge ahead with the power cuts it executed on Monday.
NamPower Managing Director Simson Haulofu confirmed that the company received the communication on the Cabinet Directive from the Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, which directed it not to forge ahead with the planned power cuts, on Monday.
NamPower switched off electricity to several defaulting local authorities and NORED on Monday.
Residents of the ||Kharas Region have thrown their support behind the motion on the writing-off of water and electricity debts that local authorities owe bulk suppliers, NamWater and NamPower.
They shared their sentiments at the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Resources and Community Development public hearing at Keetmanshoop.
Defaulters owe NamWater N$1.7 billion, while the debt owed to NamPower stands at N$1.5 billion.
Figures revealed that local authorities are the biggest defaulters.
