On Thursday, 30 July 2020, the Erongo Regional Electricity Distributor (Erongo RED) announced a weighted average tariff adjustment of -1.6% in compliance with approval from the Electricity Control Board (ECB).

Speaking at the media briefing, the Chief Executive Officer of Erongo RED, Fessor Mbango said that NamPower announced an average tariff adjustment of 0% countrywide in April 2020. Subsequently, Erongo RED submitted an application to the Electricity Control Board (ECB) for a -1.6% tariff adjustment for 2020/2021. The ECB reviewed the submission and has decided to grant a weighted average tariff decrease of -1.6%.

“The -1.6% is attributed by the introduction of the single-season tariff and the change in the Time of Use (TOU) schedule. Thus business customers will see a 0% to a -1.6% reduction based on their usage on their monthly bill, whereas all other customers (residential, pensioners and institutional) will see a zero impact on their monthly bill as tariffs remain unchanged,” explained the CEO of Erongo RED Fessor Mbango.

Mbango explained that before Erongo RED submitted its proposal to the ECB for the tariff adjustment this year various factors were taken into account. “We considered the 0% tariff adjustment by NamPower and the impact it will have on customers, concerns from the community, concerns raised by the Consumer Liaison Committee, envisaged infrastructure development, electrifications and operational cost,” said Mbango.

The other factors that the company took into account were, the current economic situation and the impact of electricity cost on its commercial and industrial customers, the impact of COVID-19 on the industries, business and our residential consumers.

Regarding the social tariffs, Mbango said that Erongo RED remains committed to providing subsidized tariffs to registered pensioners up to 40 Amperage. There are currently 6495 pensioners registered on the subsidized tariff.

“The tariffs for the pensioners who are being subsidized will remain unchanged for the 2020/2021 period. Thus, we would like to appeal to all our pensioners to visit the nearest Erongo RED office to re-register again so that they continue to benefit from the subsidized tariff,” Mbango said.

Members of the community who are not able to pay electricity at the normal rate can apply for the lifeline tariff which applies to domestic customers with up to 20 Amperage connection. There are currently 2198 consumers connected to the lifeline tariff. Consumers who would like to benefit from the lifeline tariff are encouraged to visit the nearest Erongo RED office and apply for the lifeline tariff.