MPs challenge NamPower over electricity tariffs
Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Swapo member of parliament and chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on natural resources, Tobie Aupindi, has questioned NamPower’s strategy of raising electricity tariffs every year.
He urged the utility’s management to prioritise the well-being of Namibians over profit.
Aupindi made the remarks during a consultative meeting held on Tuesday between the parliamentary standing committees on economy and industry, public administration and planning, and the productivity task force on energy in Namibia.
He said electricity in the country has become too expensive and is hurting ordinary people who are already struggling to afford basic needs.
He linked the high costs to the country’s dependence on power imports from neighbouring countries.
While the situation appears stable, Aupindi warned it may not be a reliable long-term solution.
He said part of the problem may also be mismanagement.
“Sometimes the high cost of power can be caused by greediness and lack of action by management and those entrusted with the management of energy resources by the government.”
“We need to prioritise people over profit, because as we are speaking right now, people are hurting from high electricity prices or even the lack of electricity and energy solutions. This is because of greed and sometimes a lack of action. We want the energy task force to provide solutions; we really need solutions because every time we don’t act, we place the Namibian economy at the brink of collapse. We need to act with intended purpose because we are wondering if issues of load shedding could be upon us very soon. I see stability, but I also see risks,” Aupindi said.
In May, the Electricity Control Board (ECB) approved a 3.8% tariff increase for NamPower.
The new tariff came into effect this month, raising the price from N$1.98 to N$2.06 per kWh for the 2025/26 financial year.
NamPower had applied for a 17.44% increase for both generation and transmission tariffs.
The chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on economy and industry, public administration and planning, Iipumbu Shiimi, said no country has industrialised without access to affordable electricity and energy security.
He warned that if the country starts experiencing load shedding, the cost of doing business will increase.
“We want to understand how Namibia is doing in terms of ensuring that we secure energy. Energy in terms of self-sufficiency and also getting affordable power. We are aware that Namibia currently imports a significant portion of its power from outside sources, and we are concerned about this situation,” Shiimi said.
Shiimi also acknowledged the work done by NamPower and the government to keep the lights on.
“We want to congratulate our utility company, NamPower, and the government for ensuring that the lights are on all the time, and we must not take that for granted. I believe the lights have been on because somebody is doing his or her work. Most of our neighbours are actually load shedding, and in Namibia we have not seen those incidents of load shedding,” he said.
Shiimi said relying on power imports from countries such as South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is not sustainable.
Namibia imports about 60% to 70% from these countries.
“They are selling us power, but they also don’t have enough power. So it is probably not a sustainable strategy to continue to depend on those countries for such a key resource as power.”
He said Namibia has an ambition to produce its own power locally by 2027 and asked how far the country is in achieving this goal.
NamPower chief executive officer Kahenge Haulofu admitted that electricity tariffs are high compared to the country’s economy but said there are reasons for it.
“It is true that electricity tariffs are high compared to the economy of the country, but there are reasons why the tariffs are high, and they will probably continue to increase every now and then if considerable things are not done,” he said.
Haulofu said Namibia has not developed a base load power plant for years, and that contributes to the country’s dependence on imports.
“We have a country that has not developed a base-lower power plant since the time I can’t remember. If such things are not developed by Namibia, definitely you will have to depend on others… something has to be done. But it cannot be done by NamPower by getting small loans from KfW, the World Bank or whatever; the nation has to start thinking deeply to make sure we build the plant, and we have candidate projects that can be done,” said Haulofu.
He said the future of power supply remains positive, but only if Namibia starts building its own generation capacity.
