The Sunday Mail
Africa Moyo
Power utility Zesa Holdings will not reduce electricity tariffs for gold miners from USc12,8 per kilowatt hour to the regional average of USc8/kWh.
Government has set a target of 24 tonnes of gold this year, up from 18,4 tonnes in 2015, and miners say a downward review of electricity tariffs will help attract investment for recapitalisation of mines operating below capacity and those that have shut down.
In the 2016 Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review Statement, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said: “Review of electricity tariffs for the gold industry, from 12,8c per kWh to the regional average of 8c per kWh, is also being considered with a view of aiding reduction of operating costs.”
However, Zesa spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira told The Sunday Mail Business that a downward review was impossible.
“If electricity tariffs go down, the power utility would not be in a position to efficiently service consumers as it requires adequate revenue to prepay for electricity imports to augment local generation, procure spares for network maintenance and as well as sourcing other related inputs to achieve security of electricity supply.
“Large-scale miners have an option of time of use tariff where they are charged 4c per kWh during off peak times to ensure viability of their operations, and operate more profitably,” said Mr Gwasira.
Some levies and fees charged by rural district councils and the Environmental Management Agency have also been reviewed while standardisation of local authority levies charged on mining activity is being pursued.
Fidelity Printers and Refiners, the gold-buying arm of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, has crafted strategies to get more of the metal from artisanal miners.
However, the issue of electricity tariffs remains a bone of contention.
Zesa, through its subsidiary the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company, had in fact applied for a cost-reflective tariff of USc14,69/kWh up from the average tariff of USc9,86/kWh. The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority rejected this in July.
Zera instead urged ZETDC to ensure efficiencies in power generation and distribution.
Mr Gwasira said ZETDC had already implemented “viable measures to plug power leakages”, including revenue assurance strategies where the electricity transmission and distribution system has a business intelligence mechanism to establish consumption with low or no purchases.
“These are then followed up by crack teams which conduct physical inspections of power consumption points. Consumers that are found on the wrong are prosecuted, are charged appropriate administration fees and are also levied money for energy losses to ensure that the power utility does not suffer financial prejudice,” said Mr Gwasira.
Consumers owe Zesa over US$1,1 billion and the utility is also plagued by vandalism of infrastructure, mostly transformers and cables.
