MBABANE – Consumers will heave a sigh of relief after Cabinet resolved to cushion the energy regulator with E200 million.
This implies that the envisaged increase in tariff will be less than the 13.61 per cent initially announced.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister (PM) Russell Mmiso Dlamini during a press conference yesterday. The PM explained that the E200 million ‘special fund’ will be given to the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA). The regulator, working with EEC, will decide the extent to which this funding will bring relief to the public and to mitigate future acute increases.
The PM explained that this development does not imply that tariffs will not increase during the two years.
“ESERA and the EEC will then take a resolution on how to utilise the money and further decide on the percentage increase that can be effected,” he said.
The PM said the decision was taken after government noted the public concerns regarding the tariff increase announced by the ESERA.
“Government also duly noted the rationale provided by both ESERA and Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC), necessitating the 13.61 per cent increase.”
He said Cabinet also appreciated His Majesty’s foresight and wisdom expressed in His Speech from the Throne during the State Opening of the Third Session of the 12th Parliament.
“Following this call, Cabinet deliberated on this matter, carefully considering submissions made during the consultation process and resolved to intervene to ensure that the negative impact on households and businesses alike is mitigated without destabilising EEC.”
He said in doing so, government considered the cost structures within the energy sector and the long-term sustainability of a reliable electricity supply in the kingdom.
“It is clear that the latest tariffs will have an undesired impact on the citizens as well as EEC. The increase in tariffs and corresponding impact is a result of historical decisions made to fully rely on imported power rather than on locally generated power.”
The PM said although the citizens of Eswatini are experiencing the impact now, the opportunity to prevent this was missed many years ago.
“Government, therefore, decided to intervene to bring relief to households and EEC in line with the Speech from the Throne. To enable the relief of emaSwati and businesses, government approved special funding worth E100 million in 2026 and E100 million in 2027 to ESERA.”
The PM recounted how the kingdom will aggressively pursue energy self-sufficiency and ensure that it is attained by 2030, ensuring greater control over electricity pricing and supply stability.
He said already, several key generation projects are in progress and at an advanced stage to deliver 188.6MW by 2030 including:-
- 75MW Solar Project by Independent Power Producers (IPPs)
- 40MW by Illovo Biomass Project (IPP)
- 13.6MW through the Lower Maguduza Hydro Project (13.6MW)
- 10MW through Maguga Hydropower Expansion (10MW) and
- 50MW by RES Corporation Project
Dlamini said more licences for generating an additional 1 400MW are being considered by government, putting the country on a good trajectory to eliminate reliance on imports and bring baseload for industrialisation in line with the Nkwe Programme of Action and the Grand Plan for National Transformation.
*Full article available on Pressreader*
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