Namibia will replace its annual electricity tariff review process with a three-year pricing framework from the 2027 financial year, in a move aimed at improving regulatory certainty, strengthening utility performance and supporting long-term investment in the country’s power sector.
The Electricity Control Board (ECB) said the new Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD) framework will establish a transparent, rolling three-year tariff path, providing greater visibility over future electricity prices for consumers, utilities and investors.
The regulator is currently piloting the framework with selected electricity licensees ahead of its planned rollout next year.
ECB Executive for Economic and Market Regulation Pinehas Mutota said the new model would reduce pricing uncertainty while enabling more effective long-term planning across the electricity value chain.
“As for the three-year MYPD framework, we are currently piloting it with select licensees. The primary advantage for the consumer is long-term tariff predictability and a highly stable pricing path. Consumers will know exactly what their tariff trajectories look like over a rolling three-year horizon, making financial planning simple,” Mutota said.
The pricing reform also introduces a performance-based regulatory regime that links tariff approvals to the operational efficiency of electricity distributors.
Under the new framework, distributors that fail to meet prescribed efficiency targets, including system loss and operational performance benchmarks, will face reductions in their allowable revenues, shifting the financial burden of inefficiencies away from consumers.
The ECB said the approach is intended to incentivise utilities to improve operational performance, reduce technical and commercial losses, and enhance service reliability without automatically passing avoidable costs on to end-users.
“Additionally, it introduces performance-based pricing controls. If a distributor exhibits high system losses or operational inefficiencies, they will be penalised through reductions in their allowable tariff formulations. This forces the industry to become inherently efficient, ensuring consumers get better service for the money they pay,” Mutota said.
The introduction of the MYPD aligns Namibia with a growing number of electricity regulators globally that have adopted multi-year tariff frameworks to improve regulatory certainty, encourage infrastructure investment and promote operational efficiency across the power sector.
For investors, the move is expected to provide greater visibility over future revenue streams and strengthen confidence in long-term investments in electricity generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, while supporting Namibia’s broader energy transition and power sector modernisation agenda.
