By own correspondent

The power utility is also lobbying the government to have electricity installation as part of servicing of stands to accelerate distribution of power and remedy the discord caused by late power installations to completed houses.

If successful, all new residential, commercial and industrial stands will be allocated as a complete package with roads, water, sewer and electricity, a senior ZEDTC official said yesterday.

Speaking to about 300 Beitbridge residents at a consumer education meeting yesterday Western region ZEDTC manager Lloyd Jaji said: “We are saying when a person is getting their stand, electricity should be part of the services.”

“Details will be in our client charter, which should be launched in the first six months of this year.”

He said close to 25 000 people from about 5 000 Dulivhadzimo housing units are expected to benefit from the 2,5 MVA power sub-station, whose construction will start soon.

The new substation is almost twice the size of the one currently in Beitbridge and should cater for the town’s rapid growth.

“We have been allocated a stand and this unit will answer Beitbridge’s power shortages,” he said adding they hoped completing the facility next year.

“I cannot say this year. It’s a huge project. We will soon start the civil works because the transformers are here now,” Jaji said during a question and answer session.

A resident said she has gone for eight years waiting for electricity installation.

A large section of Dulivhadzimo high and medium-density suburbs is in the dark and is also without water and sewer reticulation systems. The area has a high crime rate.

She related how thousands of home owners in Dulivhadzimu North had spent thousands of dollars on solar installations, as they awaited power supplies.
“We could have pooled our money to buy the transformers for the sub-station because each household has spent so much,” she said. Jaji told residents that his organisation had accelerated the acquisition of electricity meters to meet a demand of 130 000 units currently required.

“We have engaged 17 companies to help us acquire the meters and consumers can buy the meters from these companies,” he said.

During the meeting, facilitators from Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) educated consumers on proper usage of electricity and urged them to explore other forms of energy like gas. A Zera official, Tobias Mudzingwa said the use of gas had increased from five million kilogrammes in 2016 to 35 million kilogrammes in 2017.

Consumer Council of Zimbabwe executive director, Roselyn Siyachitema urged residents to unite and resist unfair pricing.