Govt spends N$90m to cushion consumers …reducing NamPower’s 8.4% request to a more manageable 3.7%

Electricity consumers will pay a smaller increase from 1 August, after the Electricity Control Board (ECB) cut NamPower’s requested tariff hike and the government stepped in with N$90 million to reduce costs.

The ECB initially approved a 4.8% increase in NamPower’s bulk electricity tariff for the 2026/27 financial year, below the 8.4% increase requested by the power utility. Following government intervention, the increase passed on to consumers has been reduced to an average of 3.7%.

The government’s relief package includes N$50 million from the Long Run Marginal Cost Fund and N$40 million from the National Energy Fund.

This means the average bulk tariff will increase from N$2.06 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to N$2.14 per kWh. Without the intervention, consumers would have faced a larger increase, with the tariff expected to rise to N$2.23 per kWh.

For households and businesses, this means electricity bills will still rise, but by less than NamPower had requested.