BERA considers BPC’s 5% tariff increase request
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday August 30, 2021 06:00
The decision will be informed by suggestions, comments and consultations that BERA and BPC have been hosting.
The corporation requested BERA last year together with proposals for another five percent increase in 2022-2023 and yet another four percent for 2023-2024. The BPC received a 22% average tariff increase in the 2020-2021 financial year, which was met with outrage by consumers who complained that the adjustment worsened the impact of COVID-19 on personal incomes.
Addressing the public last week Friday, BPC CEO David Kgoboko said the BPC has suffered running operational losses as the costs of producing or buying power have far exceeded tariffs. According to the Corporation, consumers are currently being charged an average of P1.28 per unit cost of electricity instead of the P1.41, which is the cost of providing the power.
“Because of this shortfall, we request BERA to allow us a five percent tariff increase,” Kgoboko said. “This will not push us to tariff cost-reflective but will be a step towards that. “To reach the cost-reflective stage we also ask the government to subsidise consumers to the tune of P500 million.”
The tariff increases have enraged consumers who say while they suffer the burden of costlier electricity, the BPC is failing to stem power outages and improve its quality of service.
Currently, Botswana has coal-powered power stations installed with the capacity to produce 732 megawatts (MW), but have been failing to meet the national demand of 600MW due to various technical challenges, forcing the country to supplement supply through imports. The main 600MW Morupule B power station is undergoing $1.2 billion remedial works which are due complete by 2024. Each of the four units at the power station is being taken down one at a time, revamped and returned to production. Unit Four is due to return to service in October.
“We will then synchronise it and then it will be running it for 90 days on full load, which is 150MW which we call a trial run, to prove that the remedial works that we have done are comprehensive and adequate to provide a boiler fit purpose,” Kgoboko said.
The adjacent Morupule A Power Station, which has the capacity to deliver 80MW, has also been refurbished with all its four units now providing stable supply.