Zambia Rejects 156% Power-Price Rise as Drought Deepens Cuts
- Tariff hike would have fanned inflation and led to job losses
- Copper mines have resorted to costly electricity imports
At Kariba, the world’s biggest artificial freshwater reservoir, Zesco risks having to switch off its turbines next month as it depletes the amount of water it’s allowed to use for the year.
Photographer: Guillem Sartorio/AFP/Getty Images
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Zambia’s energy regulator refused the state power utility’s proposal to increase electricity tariffs by as much as 156% to cover the cost of emergency supplies, citing the negative impact it would have on inflation and jobs.
The application from Zesco Ltd. presented an “impossible” way of raising its required revenues, Energy Regulation Board Chairman James Banda said Friday, adding his organization would work with the utility to find an alternatives to fund pricey power imports.