21 Jul 2020

There shall be an electricity tariffs increase next year. 

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Minerals, Green Technology and Energy Resources, Mr Mmetla Masire confirmed this when answering questions from the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently, Mr Masire said the recent 22 per cent electricity tariff increase had nothing to do with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He said the reason it was pushed during COVID-19 was because it had to be in place for the financial year that started in April. 

He said apart from the fact that this year’s tariff increase was overdue, Botswana Power Corporation was losing money, which would necessitate cushioning by government. 

Mr Masire stated that the next tariff increase was likely to be next April. 

He explained that the process of tariff increase was driven by Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority, which determined the reasonable tariff percentage increase. 

Member of Parliament for Francistown West, Mr Ignatius Moswaane decried the fact that foreigners sold electricity.

He called for the empowerment of Batswana by strictly setting some businesses aside for them. ends