’Zesa charges illegal’

industry challenged its legality.
ZERA is responsible for approving electricity tariffs in Zimbabwe.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries contested the new tariff on the basis that when it was approved, the ZERA board was not properly constituted as required by the law.

CZI, ZERA and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company concurred that the tariff was indeed invalid.

This resulted in the Administrative Court president Mr Herbert Mandeya quashing the tariff.

Mr Mandeya gave ZERA three months to come up with a new tariff.
“The decision of the first respondent (ZERA) to approve the electricity tariffs, which purportedly took effect from September 1 2011 be and is hereby set aside.
“The Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Authority will set tariffs within three months of this order,” ruled President Mandeya.

Harare lawyer Mr Herbert Mutasa of Gill Godlonton and Gerrans law firm welcomed the ruling.
He said Zesa Holdings had been over-billing its clients and should now revert to the 2009 tariffs.
Mr Mutasa said people could sue for reimbursement of the overcharged power.

“Once the tariff has been declared illegal, automatically we revert to the 2009 tariff. The 2009 tariff is lower than the one that has been declared illegal. It becomes clear that Zesa has been over-billing its clients since 2011.
“They were charging on the basis of a nullity,” he said.
Mr Mutasa suggested that refunds could possibly be made through crediting the accounts of the affected consumers.

Ms Tambudzai Gonese of Gonese Attorneys said Zesa clients were entitled to a refund.
“Whatever was built on a nullity is nullity. Zesa owes its clients. Clients may sue for refund. They can either claim a refund or to have the balances credited into their accounts with Zesa,” she said.

Another lawyer, Mr Wellington Pasipanodya of Manase and Manase law practice, hailed the judgment. Mr Pasipanodya, however, said a refund in monetary terms was unlikely.

The only sustainable way of getting a refund, he said, was through crediting clients’ accounts.
“Clients can sue but a refund in cash is unlikely. The most sustainable arrangement is a waiver of payment through converting the money involved into kilowatts of

powers, which is credited into the clients’ accounts,” said Mr Pasipanodya.

“They may get a free service for sometime to cover up for the difference.”
Mr Pasipanodya said the judgment clearly spelt out the law.
ZETDC lawyer Mr Vote Muza said he had not seen the judgment before referring this reporter to Zesa Holdings spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira.

Mr Gwasira’s phone went unanswered.
The tariff increase of September 2011 affected both domestic and commercial consumers although the contestation was instituted by CZI.