SELCo's days numbered

SELCo's days numbered It appears almost a certainty that the Southern Electricity Company's presence in the south of the country may all but be a thing of the past. Although the Keetmanshoop Municipality is locked in a six-month contract with SELCo (SELCo), developments in the regulatory space and within the town council suggest that SELCo's days are numbered.

Nampa reported this week that fuming Keetmanshoop residents wanted SELCo out, a sentiment shared by the Keetmanshoop Town Council while the Electricity Control Board told Namibian Sun that a southern regional electricity distributor would be established in the near future

Responding to questions sent to the Electricity Control Board, its CEO Foibe Namane said, “As part of the electricity distribution industry (EDI) reform being spearheaded by government, discussions are underway to set up a regional electricity distributor (RED) that will be responsible for supplying electricity to southern Namibia.”

She explained that SELCo is not a RED but was instead contracted by the Keetmanshoop municipality to do electricity distribution in the Keetmanshoop municipal area.

“The licence holder is Keetmanshoop municipality. SELCo only has a service level agreement (SLA) and a management contract with Keetmanshoop municipality for the past 15 years. The SLA between Keetmanshoop municipality and SELCo expired in October this year but consultations are underway to ensure supply of electricity until an eventual take-over in June 2017,” Namene said.

The south is with the greater Windhoek area the only extensive areas not currently served by a RED. Economist Robin Sherbourne wrote that local authorities partly fear the impact the existence of REDs may have on their revenue bases.

“The policy framework was created with the twin aims of encouraging private investors to invest in independent power producers and foster competition,” Sherbourne wrote.

Meanwhile, SELCo is coming under increasing pressure from the residents of Keetmanshoop. A group of residents made it clear on Thursday last week that they were against a proposed six-month contract between the municipality and the SELCo.

“What have you been doing all this time? We have elected you to solve our problems, but you continue to allow our economic suffering under this foreign company,” one resident said in frustration.

Keetmanshoop Town Council CEO Gaudentia Krohne told the crowd the council had yet to sign the contract and the only solution at the moment points to an extension of the municipality and SELCo's relationship for six months to prepare properly and take over the technical service. “We also do not want SELCo but we have no choice now,” she said.

- Additional reporting by Nampa



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