News / Local
Bizarre tariffs cripple Zimbabwe power projects
20 Jun 2024 at 07:32hrs | Views
In Harare, Zimbabwe, Gloria Magombo, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, highlighted the challenges faced by the country's sub-economic tariffs in funding crucial access projects, particularly backbone infrastructural development. Speaking at a national electrification analysis workshop, Magombo emphasized that efforts to enhance revenue assurance through projects like prepayment and smart metering were hindered by funding constraints exacerbated by inflation and competing economic priorities.
Magombo noted that Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa)'s struggles with revenue collection had led to a high debtors' book, impacting the ability of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) to finance its projects. Despite Zesa collecting a 6% levy for REF, limited resources and the need for power imports to meet growing demand had diverted funds from electrification projects. Currently, rural electrification efforts aimed at public institutions have reached just over 72%, falling short of the 100% target by 2025 set in the Rural Energy Master Plan of 2016.
Magombo underscored the ambitious investment requirement of over US$3.5 billion by 2030 to achieve universal energy access, highlighting the limitations of government funding, the modest impact of private sector contributions, and challenges in securing additional funding sources. She also emphasized the pressing need to connect more than 350,000 unconnected households amid increasing demand driven by population growth and economic expansion.
The workshop also discussed findings from the National Electrification Analysis, conducted with support from the World Bank, aimed at bolstering Zimbabwe's efforts to attain upper-middle-income status by 2030. Currently, approximately 62% of the population has access to electricity, with significant electricity imports mainly sourced from neighboring countries like South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, and Botswana, underscoring the country's energy challenges and the importance of strategic planning for sustainable development.
Magombo noted that Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa)'s struggles with revenue collection had led to a high debtors' book, impacting the ability of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) to finance its projects. Despite Zesa collecting a 6% levy for REF, limited resources and the need for power imports to meet growing demand had diverted funds from electrification projects. Currently, rural electrification efforts aimed at public institutions have reached just over 72%, falling short of the 100% target by 2025 set in the Rural Energy Master Plan of 2016.
Magombo underscored the ambitious investment requirement of over US$3.5 billion by 2030 to achieve universal energy access, highlighting the limitations of government funding, the modest impact of private sector contributions, and challenges in securing additional funding sources. She also emphasized the pressing need to connect more than 350,000 unconnected households amid increasing demand driven by population growth and economic expansion.
The workshop also discussed findings from the National Electrification Analysis, conducted with support from the World Bank, aimed at bolstering Zimbabwe's efforts to attain upper-middle-income status by 2030. Currently, approximately 62% of the population has access to electricity, with significant electricity imports mainly sourced from neighboring countries like South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, and Botswana, underscoring the country's energy challenges and the importance of strategic planning for sustainable development.
Source - newsday
