One of the most essential utilities in Namibia is electricity, and it is also one of the most expensive.
I remember in the 90s when the US utility industry started to decentralize, and made it possible that any company could setup and started to sell and supply electricity, meaning that it made the consumer to have a choice of where to buy electricity. It opened up a competition that reduced electricity costs.
In Namibia, you are setup not to have a choice who to supply your electricity.
If you live in the NoRED zone, you must buy your electricity from any point of sale but the electricity is supplied by NoRED, if you are in CeNORED, then it is CeNORED, if you are in Oshakati, then it is Oshakati Premier, etc.
But what if these Regional Electricity Distributors (RED) had competitors? Won’t that help drive the price of electricity down?
What if NamPower only handled the necessary infrastructure for the supplying of electricity and not actually in the business of producing and distributing electricity?
Better yet, what if NamPower actually had a competitor? What if you could setup a company and challenge the NamPower Act in the court of law to enable your company to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in Namibia and only pay rents to NamPower for using its infrastructure?
Better yet, what if electricity in the whole of SADC was traded publicly (energy traded) by utilities and be supplied by any licensed electricity distributor to anywhere in SADC?
We must not talk about improving lives through robust economic development until we have made it feasible and affordable for everyone to afford such as having electricity at home. It is not a development if you’ve got electricity meter installed in your home but cannot afford to put on electricity.
Simon Kapenda 