Gambia: Hard Times Loom Large

As electricity, water and sewerage tariffs hike

 

The prices of electricity-related goods and services will soon skyrocket as the National Water and Electricity Company Limited has increased tariffs of electricity, water and sewerage, though both individuals and corporate consumers denounced the move initially.

With effect from 1 June this year, the tariffs of electricity, water and sewerage will increase across the board, for all consumers.

Tariffs for domestic electricity consumption will be increased from D7.20 to D9.10 per kilowatt, commercial usage of electricity will also be increased from D8.60 to D9.70 per kilowatt. Hotel, club and industrial uses of electricity will also hike from D8.95 to D10.40 per kilowatt.

 
Electricity uses for agriculture, the backbone of the Gambia economy, will also be increased from D8.00 to D9.70 per kilowatt.  The usage of electricity by area councils and central government will also be accelerated to D9.70 per kilowatt from D8.70.

In the same vein, the tariff for domestic water consumption will be increased from D10.40 to 13.83 per cubic metre, commercial usage of water will also be increased from D16.90 to D22.48 per cubic metre. Hotel, club and industrial uses of water will also hike from D24.01 to D31.93 per cubic metre.

Water uses for agriculture will also be increased from D7.80 to D10.37 per cubic metre. The usage of water by area councils will increase from D10.52 to 13.99 per cubic metre and central government will also be accelerated to D14.12 per cubic from D10.62.

Gambians pay high price for electricity

Gambians pay one of highest price for electricity in the world, thus limiting again the access to energy for the population, European Union programme manager, Sylvain Lequere, says.

Speaking at the launching the renewable energy project at a local hotel in The Gambia on 14^th March, Mr Lequere reiterated that the rate at which people in Gambians continue to pay for electricity is among the highest in the world.

Mr Lequere said the country’s energy system is currently dealing with major constraints such as ageing power plants, inefficient transmission and distribution system.

Another major constraint, he noted, is the country’s high dependence on fuel coupled with “the legal frameworks that are unfavourable to private investments”.

The consequences of these constraints have gravely resulted into low access to electricity for majority of Gambians. Only 35% of the country’s 1.8 million people have access to power, of which only 6% is for the upcountry.

“This is also limiting the development of the private sector in the country,” Mr Lequere noted.

Speaking earlier, the Minister of Petroleum, Teneng Mba Jaiteh, who officially launched the energy project, said the energy situation in the country is characterised by high dependence on biomass fuels, limited access to modern energy services and unsustainable dependence on imported fossil fuel.

“Almost all of The Gambia’s modern energy service requirements are met from imported fossil-based energy sources, which is not only affecting the country’s foreign exchange reserves, thus making the country vulnerable to fluctuations in world oil prices, but it also results in the emission of greenhouse gases,” she said.

Electricity, water tariffs to further increase by 33 per cent

The National Water and Electricity Company Limited has proposed to further increase the current tariffs of electricity, water and sewerage services by 33 %, barely one year after the electricity tariff was increased by 16.50% for domestic consumption and19.44% for commercial usage.

Justifying this unpopular move, NAWEC explained that it current tariffs are not sufficient to sustain their operational obligations due to rising cost of inputs such as fuel, lubricants, and spare parts.

Most of the people said the current tariff for electricity in the country “is already high” to be increased, but NAWEC insists that its current tariffs not being sufficient to sustain the company’s operational obligations.  As a result, NAWEC said, they have since resorted to short term borrowing from commercial banks at exorbitant cost and the repayment of investment loans, which is also putting the company under enormous financial stress.

In this vein, the company has filed an application for an upward review of its tariffs to the Public Authority Regulatory Authority (PURA), a multi-sector utilities regulator, including NAWEC offered services.  Accordingly, PURA, as part of its mandate to balance the interest of both the consumers and public utilities, is to stage another Public Hearing on 17^th March at Father Pharrel Hall in Westfield.