Escom not sure on tariff raise

The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has denied reports that it will raise its tariffs next week by 38 percent.

Speculation was rife on Wednesday following an interview the company’s financial controller responsible for revenue, Delano Ulanje, gave to the State-controlled Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) in which he indicated that Escom will have to review its tariffs to cover the cost of producing electricity, but did not indicate when.

But when called by The Nation on Wednesday to speak on the same, Ulanje declined to comment, saying he is not the company’s official spokesperson and referred the issue to the company’s spokesperson George Mituka.

Mituka dismissed suggestions that Escom will raise tariffs next week or any time soon.

In the 2012/13 National Budget, Minister of Finance Ken Lipenga indicated that government is committed to an automatic adjustment of fuel and utility prices to reflect full cost recovery “to reduce the burden of fuel and electricity subsidies on the budget”.

Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) acting chief executive officer Eunice Potani had not responded to a questionnaire sent yesterday as we went to press.

Since May 2012, electricity tariffs have gone up three times—resulting in a cumulative increase of more than 82 percent, at a time the cost of living is going up requiring K102 461 for a family of six to survive in a month, according to the Centre for Social Concern (CfSC).