Business

MBABANE – The operational loss of Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) increased by 25.2 per cent to E247.2 million.

The operational costs of the utility are outlined in the EEC Integrated Annual Report for the Financial Year 2025. The report states that the operational loss increased to an alarming E247.2 million from E69.5 million in the previous year.

In fact, an analysis of the annual reports for the past four years show a trend where in 2022, the company recorded a profit of E139.5 million from core operating activities, while in 2023 this reversed into a loss of E74.5 million.

In the subsequent year – 2024, the operational loss widened further to E69.5 million before reaching the reported E247.2 million in 2025.

This reveals a trend of sharply deteriorating operational performance, despite consistent growth in top-line revenue. The company has moved from recording a modest operating profit to sustaining a huge operational loss, signalling a challenge to its long-term financial sustainability.

The reports in the past four years show a continuous downward spiral of the company’s profit margin from its core operating activities—the business of generating, transmitting and distributing electricity.

This trend shows that, while the company has successfully raised its revenue from electricity sales - which grew from approximately E2.34 billion in 2023 to E2.95 billion in 2025 —the cost of goods sold, particularly the expense of imported power, is outpacing revenue growth by a considerable margin as a result of unfavourable tariff awards when compared to supplier increases. The annual reports present several contrasting issues that emphasise the volatility and precariousness of the EEC’s operating environment.

In 2024, it is reported that local generation was above average, reaching 319GWh for the year while in 2025, this has been reversed.

The report attributed an 11.9 per cent decrease in internal generation (down to 281GWh) directly to a devastating regional drought.

This shift between the reports shows the country’s vulnerability to climatic factors, which directly impacts the EEC’s need for, unfortunately, more costly electricity imports to maintain supply. The financial bottom line has been highly volatile, contrasting sharply with the consistent, deteriorating performance of the core business.

As such, in 2024, despite the operational loss of E69.5 million, the company managed to close the year with a reported net profit after tax of E101 million.

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Copper theft plunges communities into darkness

MBABANE - The vandalism and theft of copper cost the utility E1.89 million as 272 theft cases, according to the Eswatini Electricity Company’s (EEC) 2025 Integrated Annual Report.

The EEC warns that this criminal activity is not only inconveniencing customers, but is also threatening the nation’s economy and jobs.  

The utility reported that it is continuing its efforts to collaborate with security agencies and partners to address the challenge of protecting national infrastructure and ensuring service continuity.

The report confirms that copper theft remains a significant challenge at the national level, posing a continued threat to the integrity of the distribution network infrastructure and EEC’s business.

The financial year 2024/25 saw an alarming number of incidents:

The company recorded a total of 272 theft cases, primarily involving copper.

The financial cost to EEC for materials alone was an estimated total loss of E1.89 million, which excludes labour costs, revenue losses and lost opportunity costs.

Criminals are specifically targeting overhead and underground copper cables due to their high demand in the open market.

The most frequently experienced crimes were the vandalism of the HT underground crossing copper cables, followed by the Airdac copper cables.

*Full article available in our publication

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