Local and regional authorities are accumulating increasing arrears to national power utility NamPower, with debt rising by an average of N$10 million per month, according to the Electricity Control Board (ECB).
ECB Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kahimise, said the Rehoboth Town Council remains on a bulk prepayment system but is struggling to reduce its outstanding balance.
“The debt continues to grow by about N$1.2 million per month due to interest charges. This is because only 10% of the prepaid amount is being applied to the debt, which slows down repayment,” said Kahimise.
To support councils that are making consistent efforts to settle their debts, the ECB board has advised NamPower to revise its interest policy.
“At its meeting of 12 June 2025, the Board recommended that NamPower consider stopping interest charges on arrears for local authorities that are making good-faith efforts to repay their debts,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (NORED) has remained in good standing under its repayment agreement, with arrears recorded at N$38.5 million as of early May.
“NORED continues to honour its repayment agreement and aimed to settle the balance by the end of May,” Kahimise said.
This follows NamPower’s disclosure last year that customer debt stood at N$1.5 billion. At the time, the utility threatened to disconnect defaulting local authorities before announcing that its Board and management had agreed to a government intervention plan to address the issue.
