ELECTRICITY tariffs have reverted to the local currency equivalent of the US dollar charges of 2018 with the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company saying the adjustment is meant to "restore the integrity of the utility."
In a statement , ZETDC advised customers that the energy regulator ZERA, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority, had approved a tariffs adjustment in order to restore the value of the tariff to a level of 10,63 US cents/kWh. There are percentage discounts for householders at several levels for the first 300kWh.
ZETDC said the tariff review is with effect from yesterday.
"This adjustment is expected to go a long way in enabling the utility to carry out its mandate of delivering services to the public" the stakeholder relations said.
"The tariff was approved in 2018 using indexation, but it was being eroded by exchange rate volatility and ZERA did not adjust to the full extent so that it was equal to 3,34 US cents per unit."
ZETDC said the tariff adjustment was meant to restore the integrity of the utility so this 10 cents is just as the tariff was last in October 2019.
Interviewed residents yesterday expressed mixed feelings over the increase.
A farmer at Chegutu, Mrs Dephinah Nkomo, said the tariffs increase is going to make things hard for them as farmers.
"Already the input for the crops is very expensive, we have crops like wheat which is firstly expensive on its own and requires lots of watering. That means it is more electricity needed.
"If electricity costs are high then as farmers that means all the money we get from the output will have to be used for buying ZESA so we won't be making any profit," she said.
Mrs Nkomo also said that even after buying zesa, there are a lot of power cuts.
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She stated that it has been four days since her farm last had electricity and they have been using generators to water about 20 hectares of land at high cost considering the expensive petrol.
Another farmer from Bulawayo, Mr Panashe Dube, said the electricity issue has been the problem as it is hard to maintain the crops when there is no electricity. Mr Dube advised ZEDTC to consider the volatile economy people are living in hence the need to come up with reasonable tariffs.
Mr Anesu Mushipe said: "For some of us who work in the butchery where there are perishables, we need electricity most of the times. The tariffs are now too high but at some point even if the tariffs are high we will still have to buy to secure the business."
Mr Dube stated that their business is located in the Harare city centre where electricity rarely goes off unless when there is fault.
