WATER TARIFFS TO GO UP?
Written by Millennium on September 27, 2019
LINDA SOKO TEMBO writes
@SunZambian
LUSAKA Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) says it may increase water tariffs if it cannot operate efficiently once ZESCO starts importing power.
LWSC managing director Jonathan Kampata however said the company would only increase the tariffs once it applied to National Water Supply Sanitation Council (NWASCO) its regulator.
In an interview with the Sun, Mr Kampala said once Zesco started importing power from Eskom of South Africa it would affect LWSC operations which may necessitate tariffs upward adjustment.
“Definitely if it’s at a level where by we cannot continue to operate like we are presently doing then will have no choice but to apply for an increase in tariffs as well to NWASCO,” he said.
Due to power deficit that Zambia was experiencing, Zesco would start importing power next month as an intervention to mitigate the same.
Zambia’s power deficit has caused the nation to plan for importation of 300 MW of power from ESKOM at a landed cost of approximately $22million a month. The modalities of how the intervention would be implemented were currently being worked out between ZESCO and Government.
