On the 25th of September, I uploaded an article that covered a ZESA tariffs hike. This was in-line with a ZESA tariffs hike that ZESA had indicated would be effective on the 23rd of September. The new tariffs were as follows:

Consumption Band: 1 to 50 kWh (or units)

Under this one, the cost of 1 unit is now ZWL$0.74 (up from ZWL$0.49).

Consumption Band: 51 to 200 kWh (or units)

1 unit now costs ZWL$1.62 (up from ZWL$1.08).

Consumption Band: 201 to 300 kWh (or units)

A single unit now costs ZWL$4.41 (up from ZWL$2.94).

Consumption Band: 301 kWh and above

From the moment you exceed 300 units, 1 unit costs ZWL$6.92 (up from ZWL$4.61).

This meant the first 200 units would cost ZWL$280 whilst the first 300 units would cost ZWL$721.

A few Days Later – ZESA Hikes Tariffs Again

Roughly a week later, on the 1st of October, I was stunned to learn ZESA had hiked tariffs again. I only got to know after I had purchased electricity using the above-mentioned new structure and noticed some discrepancies. When I dug around that is when I got news of the latest tariffs hike. The new tariffs structure is now as follows:

Consumption Band: 1 to 50 kWh (or units)

Under this one, the cost of 1 unit is now ZWL$1.11 (up from ZWL$0.74).

Consumption Band: 51 to 200 kWh (or units)

1 unit now costs ZWL$2.43 (up from ZWL$1.62).

Consumption Band: 201 to 300 kWh (or units)

A single unit now costs ZWL$6.62 (up from ZWL$4.41).

Consumption Band: 301 kWh and above

From the moment you exceed 300 units, 1 unit costs ZWL$10.38 (up from ZWL$6.92).

Let me break that down for you, it means:

The first 50 units now cost ZWL$55.50

The next 150 units now cost ZWL$364.50

The next 100 units now cost ZWL$662

Resultantly,

The first 200 units are now at ZWL$420

The first 300 units are now at ZWL$1082

Some Things To Discuss

First of all, lots of people have expressed their utmost disappointment at the lack of professionalism displayed by ZESA. Picture this scenario: on the 23rd of September, they announced a new tariffs structure – with short notice. Then a week later that hike tariffs on the very day that they release a communique to that effect – a communique that few people knew about.

Here is the thing, when the new tariffs structure effective the 23rd of September came into being people held off buying electricity. This they did to wait until October started. This means when the month of October started, people were basing their electricity purchases on that tariff structure. I, myself, was baffled when on the 1st of October I checked using the online units calculator to find that ZWL$280 was getting way less than 200 units. This did not make sense to me because I was still working with the 23rd September tariffs structure. I was not alone as several people on social media started raising the same issue. It was only moments later that someone told me another tariffs hike had just been enacted.

There are two things here which are grossly inappropriate. One, ZESA put into effect a tariffs hike on the very same day they made the communication – not notice at all. Two, they did not even communicate it in such a way that a significant number of people could get communication. After all, they had just hiked tariffs barely a week prior. All these things are bad business practices because they did not factor in how much they were going to inconvenience people. Moving forward, these things should not be repeated – most people can barely make ends meet as it is.

That is just about it; ZESA has hiked tariffs once again. Take note of the new tariffs as I discussed earlier. I have heard that so many people do not quite understand the stepped tariffs structure as yet. I have done my best to explain in a way that you can grasp. There is an online resource you can use to check how many units you will get for a particular amount before you buy electricity. You will also get to see your current consumption band and several other important details. To access it, you can click here.