Engagements between the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (NORED), NamPower and other key stakeholders at the national level are ongoing to ensure there will be no further suspensions of electricity to Nored’s customers.

The head of corporate communications and marketing at NORED, Simon Lukas, said this in a media statement issued here on Tuesday after several towns in the Hardap and ||Kharas regions, as well as in the seven northern regions supplied by Nored, went without electricity.

Towns experienced power outages between 17h00 and 22h00 on Monday.

According to Lukas, the power outages occurred after a recent announcement by NamPower on its plan to suspend in stages the electricity supply of the defaulting customers starting on 05 June 2023 as part of their debt collection mechanism.

The defaulters owe the power utility over N.dollars 1 billion.

‘However, NORED took note earlier on 05 June 2023 about a Cabinet directive for NamPower to put on hold the impending power suspensions, pending further consultations among relevant stakeholders,’ Lukas stated.

He said Cabinet had directed NamPower to stop its plan to cut power to defaulting regional electricity distributors, local authorities and regional councils.

Finance and Public Enterprises Minister, Iipumbu Shiimi, informed Cabinet about the worsening debt situation of these entities, which led to a directive for NamPower to postpone the power suspensions.

The decision he said was communicated to NamPower board chairperson, Daniel Motinga, in a letter from Shiimi.

‘NORED regrets this unfortunate incident and in the same vein hereby would like to extend its sincere apologies to all its esteemed stakeholders and valued customers,’ Lukas noted.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency