Namibia: Govt Spends N$90m to Cushion Consumers ...Reducing Nampower's 8.4 Percent Request to a More Manageable 3.7 Percent

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a New Era report from Windhoek dated 21 July 2026, reported that Namibian electricity consumers will face a smaller tariff rise from 1 August after the Electricity Control Board (ECB) reduced NamPower’s requested increase and the government provided N$90 million in support. NamPower had sought an 8.4% bulk tariff increase for the 2026/27 financial year, but the regulator approved 4.8%, and the state intervention is expected to lower the average increase passed on to consumers to 3.7%.

According to the report, the relief package comprises N$50 million from the Long Run Marginal Cost Fund and N$40 million from the National Energy Fund. The average bulk tariff will move from N$2.06 per kilowatt-hour to N$2.14/kWh; without the government support, it would have risen to about N$2.23/kWh. The ECB estimated that a N$100 electricity purchase would provide between 31 and 38 kWh, depending on the distributor, with City of Windhoek customers expected to receive about 37.60 kWh and Erongo RED customers about 31.11 kWh.

ECB chief executive Robert Kahimise said the board weighed affordability concerns for households and businesses while also considering NamPower’s need for sustainable revenue. The regulator also instructed distributors to leave social tariffs unchanged, protecting pensioners and other qualifying low-income users from increases under that category.

The report noted that Namibia still depends on imported electricity, which can expose the country to external price and exchange-rate pressures, even as renewable energy projects expand local generation. Local authorities and regional electricity distributors must still submit tariff applications to the ECB before final consumer tariffs are approved.