City undecided over electricity hikes

THE City of Windhoek says it is still considering whether or not to raise electricity prices this year.

Yesterday, the City confirmed that it had received official notification from NamPower that there would be an increase in bulk supply charges. This follows an announcement by the Electricity Control Board (ECB) that it had permitted an increase of 8,7 per cent for this year.The City’s Chief of Corporate Communications said that the council would first have to consider the impact of the tariff increase before deciding whether or not to pass the hike on to customers.At their last meeting to approve the City’s budget for the 2004-05 financial year, the Council informed residents that they would have to dig deeper into their pockets this year to pay for water and did not rule out the possibility that this could be the case for electricity supply too.Last year consumers shouldered a 14 per cent increase for electricity.This follows an announcement by the Electricity Control Board (ECB) that it had permitted an increase of 8,7 per cent for this year.The City’s Chief of Corporate Communications said that the council would first have to consider the impact of the tariff increase before deciding whether or not to pass the hike on to customers.At their last meeting to approve the City’s budget for the 2004-05 financial year, the Council informed residents that they would have to dig deeper into their pockets this year to pay for water and did not rule out the possibility that this could be the case for electricity supply too.Last year consumers shouldered a 14 per cent increase for electricity.