Tujoromajo Kasuto
Electricity Control Boards 2021 financial year report reveals that its revenue declined by 7.75 percent from N$93,7 million in the previous fiscal year to N$86,4 million.
The actual quantities of power supplied by the ECB declined by 10.3 percent as compared. The decrease in electricity units sold is due to the general decline in economic activity, which is principally attributed to the impact of COVID-19.
Other reasons include a growth in power generation for personal consumption by users, such as solar rooftops, which are not subject to the ECB levies.
Levy income is ECBs primary source of revenue. The taxes collected are based on the amount of power delivered by NamPower as well as licensed embedded and isolated generators.
For the 2020/2021 fiscal year, the ECB levy price per kWh remained unchanged.
Other income for the time under review was mostly sourced from interest, license fees, and rental income from the former ECB office building.
ECB Chief Executive Officer, Pinehas Mutota, stated that the ECB’s financial position is stable, but is concerned that levy income continues to decline due to the downturn in economic activity.
“The ECB continues to employ necessary strategies to ensure financial sustainability in the short, medium, and long term by monitoring the financial position and forecasting expenditure, which includes managing and investing the ECB surplus in a prudent manner’’ Mutota said.
According to the Board Chairperson Gotlieb Hinda, the institution was able to complete 71 percent of the Strategic Plan projects, with the remaining 29 percent expected to be completed during the first year of the current Strategic Plan.
The ECB also embarked on the drafting of its new Strategic and Business Plan for the period 2021- 2026.
Hinda said some of the carry-over projects from the current Strategic and Business Plan cycle will be incorporated in the new document and the new Strategic and Business Plan is crafted to be proactive and responsive to modern energy regulation trends as well as best practices. Meanwhile, NamPower purchased 60 percent of the total energy requirements from South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to meet local demand. Independent power producers (IPPs) supplied 8 percent of local requirement, while supply through the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) Day-Ahead Market trading platform supplied 7 percent.
NamPower has established 21 power purchase agreements (PPAs) over the years, with 18 plants already online, as part of an effort to reduce reliance on imports and boost the percentage of local generation. Three further IPPs with a total installed capacity of 58.94MW begun operations in 2021.
When compared to the previous fiscal year, the report notes that the project expenditure for the period under review declined by 37.14 percent. This decline, as well as the budget under-expenditure, can be attributed to a variety of circumstances, including the cancellation of several tenders due to high financial proposals received, as well as COVID-19 restrictions that impacted specific project operations.
