29 Mar 2017

Connectivity of electricity in rural villages is guided by the National Development Plan .
Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) customer service manager, Mr Petros Mosholombe says the corporation was only responsible for implementation.
Addressing the Kweneng District full council meeting recently, Mr Mosholombe said BPC did not have control over priorities of villages to be connected, but only implemented as per government priorities.
He highlighted that preference was made looking mostly at the population in given areas as well as potential to get business, adding that the final decision lay with the financier, which is the government.
Councillors were briefed about the P5 600 fee required for connection under the National Electricity Standard Cost (NESC) where individual customers were required to pay a subsidised standard charge on the first 500 metres from the nearest power source, an amount charged for domestic users.
The charge, he said only applied to the first P5 600. Those outside the 500-metre boundary may get higher amount depending on the distance.
The arrangement, he added,  did not apply to businesses as they were not subsidised.
  Mr Mosholombe decried that BPC was overwhelmed by reports of vandalism and theft of copper cables nationwide that impacted on intentions to act promptly due to a high number of reported cases.
He said in an effort to reduce vandalism and stealing of copper cables from BPC transformers, BPC had resorted to the use of Alloy, a combination of metals, diverting from copper that appeared to be more attractive to thieves.
He admitted that BPC in some cases failed to meet the set service standards to their clientele, adding that they sometime failed because they were constrained by unavailability of funds.
The other proplem, Mr Mosholombe highlighted, was old infrastructure that required regular maintenance.
 Kweneng District area engineer, Mr Maikano Orapeleng made a briefing to the effect that problems of power cuts at Serinane Water Treatment Plant had since been arrested.
Mr Orapeleng also indicated that they had since advised Water Utilities Cooperation (WUC) to ensure that they had alternative power supply to augment that of BPC by ensuring continuity in the supply of water in the event of power cut.     
Mr Orapeleng also reported that they sometimes failed to act promptly to reports due to vastness of the district covered because reports also came in high numbers as it was also worsened by the recent rains.     
 Mr Oprapeleng however, assured the meeting of replacement of a transformer to supply Mmankgodi, Manyana and Mogonye.
He was also optimistic that the problem was unlikely to recur because it was satisfactorily sorted out.
Gabane North East councillor,  Mr Ofentse advised on the need to install lights around transformers to curb theft.
 Councillors Lopang Sebutlenyane of Salajwe and Dukes Mafoko of Mmankgodi North, among others, complained about BPC’s constant failure to meet customers’ demands and their unresponsiveness to clients’ reports. ENDS