INSIGHT | ENERGY & POWER
Electricity Control Board Plans Penalties for Poor-Perfoming Electricity Utilities
ECB says its new electricity tariff system will end yearly guesswork and tie what utilities charge to how well they perform.
Electricity tariffs will no longer be set one year at a time, as the Electricity Control Board (ECB) moves to a multi-year system that rewards utilities that perform and penalises those that do not.
This follows after ECB earlier this year made a move aimed at balancing electricity supply costs with affordability, by introducing a new tariff methodology scheduled for implementation in 2027.
ECB`s Executive for Economic Regulations, Pinehas Mutota said the methodology will bring stability and make it easier for consumers to track how tariffs are set.
Mutota announced the change on Thursday during a panel discussion at the Namibia Electricity Supply Industry Forum (NESIG 2026) in Windhoek. The forum was held under the theme "Driving Affordable Energy Transformation Through Digital Innovation, Collaboration and Investment".
He further said the ECB will retain the cost-plus method while introducing performance indicators to reward utilities that meet their targets and penalise those that fall short.
“It would be a win-win situation for all of us,” he said, adding that the system will cover generation, transmission and distribution, with costs reconciled at the end of each period.
Mutota explained that the ECB is looking at cost allocation, because more embedded generators are connecting to the grid and tariffs should reflect how each user uses the network.
Addressing affordability, the executive said tariff-setting must consider efficiency, service delivery, transparency and feasibility, adding that the entire sector has a role in keeping electricity affordable.
He urged utilities, municipalities and other stakeholders to study the documents and take part in the process. "We want you to be there, so that by next year when we do the application, you are also ready," he said.
