Power prices up for winter

WINDHOEK businesses and residents are advised to start planning their electricity consumption, after the City of Windhoek’s new time-of-use (TOU) tariffs came into effect this week.

The new charges became official at midnight on Tuesday, shortly after the City announced its annual budget.In terms of the new tariffs, the City will charge electricity at higher rates during the months of June, July and August.Higher tariffs will also be charged on weekdays compared to weekends, and at certain peak times of the day.The new charges stem from NamPower’s announcement earlier this year that it would start charging the municipality and other bulk customers according to the TOU system, and further indications that NamPower is to increase its bulk price on electricity consumption by 15 per cent.The City has warned that it would have to pass on the increases to its customers.Currently, only the municipality’s large corporate customers are affected directly by the TOU charges, as existing electricity meters in homes are unable to record the exact time at which power is used.Still, increased consumption during peak hours will result in higher charges overall, City officials warned yesterday.The daily peak hours are from 07h00 to 12h00, and again between 18h00 and 21h00 on weekdays.The City has also increased its prepaid electricity tariffs by 13,5 per cent in the new budget, a decision that became effective yesterday.