Big Power Cuts in Zimbabwe Cities Unrelated to 2009 Estimated Bills - ZESA

ZESA Public Relations Manager Fullard Gwasira said that while the utility did not write off estimated bills , indications are that some people delay paying their bills until they can no longer afford to settle them
Gibbs Dube
Washington 21 January 2011
A spokesman for the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority on Friday dismissed reports the parastatal has disconnected power supplies to Zimbabweans in urban areas based on 2009 estimated bills which a regulatory body had ordered it to write down.

ZESA Public Relations Manager Fullard Gwasira said that although the estimated bills were not written off by the electrical utility, indications were that some customers delay paying their power bills until they can no longer afford to settle them.

Gwasira said the Competitions, Pricing and Tariff Commission ordered a revision of the bills based on meter readings. He could not account for bills as high as US$600 in some cases.

Residents who have been cut off said bills were based on 2009 estimated usage.

Gwasira said consumers must pay their electricity bills in order to continue receiving power from the utility. “We are currently not disconnecting power on estimated bills but for electricity consumers used over a long time without paying for it,” he said