New EDSA Tariff Amidst Blackout

The Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) has removed the T1 social tariff band which was a means of subsidizing electricity rates for the country’s poorest residents. This was approved by the country’s Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission (SLEWRC).

This means there is effectively an increase in the price of EDSA Top-Up. According to SLEWRC, the decision comes after a request from EDSA citing concerns that the current system benefits all customers, including wealthy individuals. This according to SLEWRC prevents EDSA from generating enough revenue to purchase electricity from independent power producers.

“The purpose of the T1 social Band was to provide electricity to the poorest. Unfortunately, our review and analysis of the tariff structure indicate that all customers (including the richest) are benefiting from the pro-poor categories, depriving EDSA of the needed revenue to purchase electricity from IPPs (Karpower, CLSG, etc.), “a statement from SLEWRC read.

SLEWRC acknowledged the impact this will have on the masses and assured they are working with EDSA to develop new technology to identify and categorize low-income customers accurately.

“We acknowledge the impact of this change on the genuine pro-poor group. SLEWRC is actively collaborating with EDSA to deploy the appropriate technology to accurately categorize customers within the pro-poor segments. The Commission shall review this decision when the appropriate technology that adequately identifies and separates poor customers from high-end users is in place,” it stated.

This comes at a time when the country is grappling with an electricity crisis with long spells of blackouts across the country.