Secretary general of the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (Tucna) Mahongora Kavihuha on Thursday expressed concern over the prevailing high electricity costs.

 His comments come after the announcement by the Electricity Control Board in May 2023 of an increase of 8.9% for NamPower’s bulk electricity tariff (inclusive of generation and transmission), resulting in an increase from an average N$1.82 per kilowatt hour to N$1.99 per kilowatt-hour for the financial year 2023/24, effective 1 July 2023.

 Speaking at a press conference at the Tucna headquarters, Kavihuha said Namibia, with all its potent robust and limitless potential to generate electricity and even export excess electricity to neighbouring countries, cannot do so.

 “We are importers of electricity, 71.2% of the electricity that Namibia consumes is from its neighbouring countries, and the rest of the electricity – about 28.8% – is produced locally; the bigger portion of it is being produced by the Ruacana Hydroelectric Plant at 24%,” he said.

 These figures, he said, are according to the Independent Power Producers (IPP) – Namibia Quarterly Economic Review in March 2023.

 Kavihuha further said the single most worrying thing is the absence of evidence indicating what the institutions responsible for the provision of electricity are doing or whether whatever they are doing is nearly enough to fill the glaring gaps in the space of local energy provision.

 The union secretary general stated that it is also obvious that over the few decades of its existence, NamPower has proven ineffectual in its duty to generate electricity from locally available and cheap resources, starting from wind, sun, water and invader bush “that we have in annoying abundance” in the whole country.  - Nampa