The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has announced a significant change to its billing system for domestic customers.
Starting immediately, all electricity units will be priced in US Dollars (USD) rather than Zimbabwe Dollars (ZWL).
Under this new system, customers can still buy their electricity tokens using Zimbabwe Dollars, but the underlying cost will be linked to a USD benchmark. ZESA clarified in a recent announcement that while the units are valued in US dollars, customers have the option to buy them using Zimbabwe dollars at the prevailing interbank rate on the day of purchase.
“ZETDC would like to advise its valued clients of the domestic prepaid cost guide that applies to the first purchase of each month. The tariff is pegged in US$ and is payable at the prevailing interbank rate on the date of the purchase. Clients can use the following cost guide based on ZERA approved tariff of 1 December 2023. The unit cost is inclusive of the 6% REA Levy,” ZESA announced in a recent statement.
To help customers understand the new pricing structure, ZESA listed the updated prices in USD for different units of electricity. Here are the new ZESA USD prices:
Units (kWh) Cost (US$)
50 4.24
100 9.01
200 25.97
250 38.16
300 50.35
350 63.60
400 76.85
500 104.41
600 131.97
700 159.53
800 187.09
900 214.65
1000 242.21
Customers who wish to buy their ZESA tokens in Zimbabwe dollars, can multiply the USD cost by the prevailing interbank rate on that particular day. For example, if the cost of purchasing 300 units is USD 50.35 and the interbank rate on that particular day is $20,000 ZWL, the cost in Zimbabwe dollars would be $1,007,000 ZWL. It’s important to note that the cost will vary as the interbank rate changes. To stay updated on the current costs of purchasing a specific number of units, customers can visit the ZESA tariffs page, which automatically displays the electricity costs whenever the rate changes.
Source iHarare
