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Ministry of Mines and Energy

2015-10-13  Staff Report 2

Ministry of Mines and Energy
Query: Can someone explain to us how electricity is distributed in Ovitoto? Only some villages are getting electricity and I wonder if we, the residents of Otjiserandu village, will ever [see our village] electrified. Please do something. We are so close to Okahandja. Response: The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) has developed a Rural Electricity Distribution Master Plan to ensure that rural electrification is carried out in an equitable manner throughout the country. The Master Plan first of all prioritises electricity supply to schools, clinics, government institutions and businesses. Households in the vicinity of a 500-metre radius of the transformer will be considered for connection once all schools in the regions are electrified. In conjunction with the Master Plan, the ministry normally requests a priority list from the regional council of all public institutions that need to be electrified in their regions. We are kindly urging the communities of Otjiserandu village to be patient while the ministry implements the plans already in place to electrify rural areas during the 2015/16 financial year. We encourage the concerned citizen to please liaise with their constituency councilor. Query: Mr President and Minister of Mines and Energy, we must seriously address this issue of pre-paid electricity. You cannot buy electricity for N$100 and the units you get are only half of that amount. In the absence of additional information, such as the area the person resides in, the prepaid token, and the type of customer (residential, business or large power user), this response is based on the assumption that the customer is a residential consumer. In the case of residential customers, there are no additional charges by the vendors on the token. In other words, no “commission” is charged when customers buy electricity. The transaction includes levies, distribution, transmission, import and local generation costs. These comprise the electricity tariff components, amounting to N$2 per kWh or a single unit bought. Customers should also not denote money for units bought. For example, in a case where the customer is on business prepaid, he/she will be charged on the approved tariff, plus the VAT at 15%, and also according to the type of meter installed (single phase or three phase), as well as the installed capacity. Such a customer, therefore, cannot expect 100 units with a N$100 electricity purchase. Furthermore, it is important to note that the Electricity Act 4 of 2007, Section 27 (1) clearly states that “a licensee may not levy any charge in connection with the provision of electricity against any customer, other licensee or any other person other than in accordance with the tariffs specified in the schedule of approved tariffs contained in the licensee’s license. Kindly contact the ECB and the various licensees to obtain a schedule of approved tariffs in your area outlining the above tariff components. Ten Hasheela, Chief Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Mines and Energy, E-mail Address: Ten.Hasheela@mme.gov.na
2015-10-13  Staff Report 2

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