Zesco’s fixed charge; mounts to theft

By Clement Bwalya: the fixed charge Zesco is deducting from customers on prepaid metres is broad daylight theft from its customers. Zesco has always been deducting fixed charges from its clients on post paid but even after installing prepaid metres Zesco still continue. The company should learn from other utilities like Zamtel and water utilities. Water utilities do not demand money from the customer for the installation of water metres and Zamtel equally scraps off the fixed charge soon after the client opts to go on prepaid landline. Zesco deducts K47, 000 every month from commercial facilities and about K14, 629.31 from domestic premises. If you multiply K47, 000 by 12 months the money comes to K564, 000. The question is how long will Zesco continue deducting from one facility for reason of wanting to recover for the prepaid metre installation? And K14, 629.31 levied on domestic facilities as fixed charge by 12 months, the amount comes to K176, 400. If Zesco is allowed to be deduct from one commercial facility for a period of five years the company would reap a whooping sum of K33, 840,000 and K882, 000 on domestic facility.

What is the role of the energy regulator or would the regulator allow Zesco to be deducting indefinitely? These are not the only charges that Zesco levy, the company further complicates it with Value Added Tax (VAT) at K3, 724 and Exercise Duty K667.92. The situation is that if a customer with K50, 000 is buying units for home use would first pay 40 per cent (K20, 000) from K50, 000 if he happens to owe Zesco, fixed charged of K14, 700, K3,000 for TV levy plus VAT and exercise duty the only money he can use to purchase units is K7,968.68. With Zamtel if I purchase talk time for K100, 000 the whole amount would reflect in my landline. Why should the situation be different with other utilities? I personally suggest that Zesco should make the installation of prepaid option as the installed prepaid metres do not favour the Small and Medium Enterprise. For example if I get an order to make door frames for the school, I have first to go and buy units and if I don’t have money I won’t do the job. The best is allow the customer make the door frames which requires much power because of the usage of the welding machine and allow him to pay later. Let the business houses remain on post paid because it is very difficult to control usage of power. I run a shop and bar where controlling customers is practically in impossible making me opt to be on post paid. In residential the pre paid is okay but the demand for power in business is very high.