Government’s project to connect electricity to customers cheaply, named National Electricity Standard Connection (NESC), has been given a boost after the Fund that was set up to finance it has managed to raise enough cash to kick start the project.
Ponatshego Kedikilwe, minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, said the Fund had raised substantial amounts of money and soon customers will be connected as soon as a contractor is found.
“At the end of October 2010, BPC has received 2 587 applications of which 1840 quotations were issued to deserving customers,” revealed Kedikilwe.
“Of this number, 368 customers have paid the required deposits,” he added.
NESC, which will connect customers for a standard fee of P5000, is fed through the Fund set up to collect 5 thebes from receipts of electricity consumers who are already Botswana Power Corp customers.
Since the project started, the 5 thebes have been translated to P76 million. The 5 thebes are part of the outcry from consumers as electricity has become expensive, coupled by high power charges in addition to 30 percent tariff increases and 2 percent increase on the Value Added Tax (VAT).
The P76 million is against the set target of P75 million.
