The Electricity Control Board (ECB) states that NamPower’s disconnections as part of a debt collection plan have caused immeasurable damage to the economy, a position which could worsen if continued.
In the same vein, the sector regulator has vowed not to support any future disconnections implemented by its licensees as part of a debt recovery plan.
NamPower has suspended its debt recovery plan, which involved disconnecting defaulting customers, until the end of August.
“NamPower’s Debt Collection Plan has caused (and will cause, if continued) immeasurable damage to the economy, interrupting critical and lifesaving services such as medical services, and causing hardship for electricity consumers. Interruptions have a negative impact on economic activity and may even increase the inability of customers to pay bills as a result. The ECB empathizes with customers who are in good standing or who are on prepayment and were unfairly affected by the measures taken by NamPower. In the future, any debt recovery plan by any licensee that compromises lifesaving services and interrupts customers in good standing will not be supported by the ECB,” said ECB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert Kahimise.
He,however, stated that electricity supply to non-paying customers should be immediately discontinued, and the revenue generated should be strictly used for electricity-related purposes.
“We also urge distribution licensees to implement strict credit control policies to ensure that electricity supply to non-paying customers is immediately discontinued, ensuring prompt payment by all customers. The revenue generated should be paid over to NamPower and not used for other non-electricity related purposes by the distribution licensees,” said the ECB CEO.
“The ECB-approved tariffs provide sufficient revenue for distribution licensees to settle their NamPower bills and ensure a safe and reliable supply of electricity to their customers. The licensees have an obligation to recover electricity payments from their respective customers to ensure the settlement of NamPower bills and to utilize funds to safely operate and maintain their respective networks.”
The ECB CEO maintains that the country’s power utility has not been diligent in debt management and general revenue collection, a development which could threaten the country’s energy supply.
“The current problem faced by NamPower originates from two sources: NamPower’s reluctance or failure to strictly implement its own credit control policy and distribution licensees failing to fully settle their NamPower invoices on time, which has been happening over a long period. This poses a risk to the security of supply in Namibia, as NamPower may find itself unable to buy or generate sufficient electricity to meet the country’s electricity needs,” he said.
Kahimise also revealed that a committee had been established by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development to look into the non-payment by Regional Electricity Distributors (REDs).
“The ECB wishes to inform its stakeholders that it has been invited to participate in a committee established by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development to look into the matters under discussion,” he said.
The pronouncement by the electricity sector regulator comes after NamPower initiated disconnections for 14 defaulters, including eight regions under the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Nored), to recover an outstanding debt of N$1.5 billion.
