By Staff Reporter
Energy minister Makozo Chikote says the government did not say that Zesco will immediately jump into providing electricity for 7-hours per day to consumers as a basis for approving the emergency tariff hikes.
Featuring on a recent Diamond TV interview, Chikote was asked if the government was not gaslighting citizens who were now paying more from the emergency tariff hikes, after they were promised with 7-hours electricity, against his explanation that the move was done in order to help the keep the struggling utility company afloat.
Reminded by Diamond TV journalist Dingindaba Jonah Buyoya that the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) said they were approving the emergency tariff so that Zesco could supply 7-hours of electricity per day, “unless you are not aware of this minister”, Chikote said the ERB was under the “mother body” of Ministry of Energy.
“That’s why I am saying that you see, when we are talking of imports, we are talking of resources,” he said.
Asked if he was aware that ERB made the 7-hour commitment per day, Chikote said: “Well, that is what I am getting from you, because what I know from what we have been exchanging, we had a systematic way of explaining things. We never jumped from four days load shedding then they said we are jumping into 7-hours.”
He said when he featured on Diamond TV last time, he talked about the three hours consistent supply, which would move to 7-hours and would continue moving until reaching 12-hours.
“Isn’t this chaotic minister, that ERB makes a commitment of 7-hours per day and you are not even aware, and citizens are expecting that your Ministry is going to manage their energy situation,” Buyoya asked Chikote.
In response, Chikote said the government was moving towards that, hence his mentioning about some of the power projects that were currently on course.
He said the tariffs must be cost reflective.
Zesco last year applied for an emergency tariff hike that was purportedly rejected by the ERB as the same did not promise to increase the hours of electricity supply to consumers.
Zesco then pushed in another application that promised at least 7-hours supply to consumers daily, which was approved and ran up to January 31, 2025.
However, despite the utility company not living up to its promises on the 7-hours supply, and despite the continued blackouts and the move to only provide electricity to millions of suppliers at midnight to very early in the morning, the ERB has extended the emergency hike for another three months.
