Zimbabwe’s energy regulator on Wednesday announced a 320 percent hike in electricity tariffs as the southern African country battles to shake off long-running power shortages that threaten to bring the economy to its knees.
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) said in a statement that it has approved an application by the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company for a tariff increase to 162.16 Zimbabwe cents (about US$0.11) from 38.61 cents previously.
ZERA said the decision to more than treble the electricity charges was taken after “the authority analysed the current situation characterised by about 18 hours of load shedding on most consumer groups, the high-cost of alternative energy supplies, the deterioration of the tariff being charged against what is deemed cost-reflective.”
The country is battling daily blackouts and grappling with soaring inflation, which has seen prices of most goods and services rising more than 10-fold in the past few months.
This is the second increase in electricity tariffs during the past three months, with the last one effected in August.
JN/APA