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Zimbabwe energy distributor scales up debt recovery rate

25th August 2016

By: African News Agency

  

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The country’s energy distributor, Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), has intensified its efforts to recover more than $1-billion in debt owed to it by consumers.

Of the total debt, domestic consumers account for $300-million.

“The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company is intensifying revenue collection efforts in order to maintain the prevailing stable power supply situation. To that end, ZETDC would like to advise all prepaid customers in arrears that the recovery rate of 40% will be increased to 50% with effect from September 1, 2016, to ensure they pay up their debts within reasonable periods,” the energy supplier said Thursday.

“All business customers on both prepaid and post-paid platforms in arrears are also being advised to clear their debts within six months with effect from September 1, for the power utility to be in a position to supply adequate electricity to customers.”

ZETDC said it would hand over defaulting customers to its lawyers.

At the start of the programme five years ago, ZETDC said it would recoup only 5% from every transaction made by its customers, but the utility has been raising its recovery%ages, which now has reached 50%.

The energy distributor has been struggling to recoup debt from its customers. A half a decade ago it introduced the prepaid meter system.

Zimbabwe has been grappling with a power crisis over the years, mounting from obsolete equipment, defaulting customers, and vandalism.

In July, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) shot down an application by ZETDC to have tariffs increased by 49%, from 9.86 US cents per kilowatt hour (c/kWh) to 14.69c/kWh.

ZESA Holdings, ZETDC’s parent company, in seeking to have the tariffs increased, said it needed to pay for power imports from regional countries such as South Africa and Mozambique.

But the energy regulator gave the reason that the economy was not performing well and that the government was making efforts to improve the ease of doing business in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe needs 2 200 MW of power, but the power plants are only producing 1 200 MW against a capacity of 1 960 MW.

An extra 500 MW is imported from South Africa’s Eskom (300 MW), the Democratic Republic of Congo (100 MW) and Mozambique (between 100 MW and 185 MW).

Edited by African News Agency

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