ZETDC owed $900m

Diana Nherera Herald Reporter
Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) is owed close to $1 billion by customers and the firm says it has since put in place measures to recover the debt, spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira has said.
In an interview on Thursday, Mr Gwasira said ZETDC would urge its debtos to negotiate payment plans, while the firm would make automatic deductions debtors buying vouchers for prepaid meters.

“ZETDC has also put in place legal channels, with supply disconnections being the last resort if there is no response from the customer. We are owed $900 million by customers,” he said.

Upon recovery of the arrears, the power company wants to channel the money towards electricity generation and transmission.

Mr Gwasira said the money would also be used to buy materials, cables and service vehicles in order to respond faster when faults occur.

“We also need to pay for power imports, coal and water for local generation,” said Mr Gwasira.

In a related matter, ZETDC said it had installed about 60 percent of prepaid meters on farms countrywide and plans to install 300 000 more in industries and related sites were at an advanced stage.