Exactly ten years ago, in its 2003/04 financial year, the Botswana Power Corporation served up a P206 million profit powered by revenues of P581.9 million and weighed against generation, transmission and distribution expenses of P388.2 million. At the time, maximum demand countrywide peaked at 394 megawatts (MW).
By comparison, in its recently released results for the 2011/12 financial year, the BPC dished out a P1.1 billion loss, with revenues of P1.8 billion eclipsed by generation, transmission and distribution expenses of P2.5 billion. For this period, peak demand was pegged at 542 MW.
Another comparison of the two periods indicates that in 2003/04, the BPC recorded an operating profit of P66.6 million, meaning it had a positive outturn from its core business operations. Its latest financials, however, indicate an operating loss of P819.4 million, subsequently rescued partly by a government tariff subsidy grant of P508 million.While the figures are helpful in understanding the BPC's regression into its current nightmare, they belie various key factors such as the spiral in prices of imported power, sluggish tariffs, a swelling debt and arrears book and other internal operational inefficiencies.
