SPEAKING NOTES TLOANENG AND RAMOSENYA MEETINGS, 11 MAY 2009

1. SPEAKING NOTES TLOANENG AND RAMOSENYA MEETINGS,11 MAY 2009 Hon Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Dr P.H.K. Kedikilwe

2. Electricity Supply Background • Several villages are electrified under Government’s village electrification programmes (VEPs). • In certain instances, some villages are electrified during implementation of projects to supply government institutions/installations or another developer, e.g. school, well field or BTC/BTA/Mascom/Orange installation.

3. Tloaneng • Village electrified in October 2008. • The village partially covered because of focus on potential customers as well as budget constraints. • Currently 45 customers applied and quotations have been sent to them, only 15 have paid. • Standard cost (VAT exclusive). • Single phase, overhead – P6,985.46 • Single phase underground – P7,251.03 • Three phase – P12,170.61 • Extra investment of P726 000 required to include people requiring a 1.5 km line extension. This will increase the standard cost e.g. to P9 750.00 for overhead service connections.

4. Block 9 • Initial network came through supply to Department of Civil Aviation beacon, quarries as well as Water Affairs pump station. The other network overlapped from Nko-ya-Phiri. Individuals were connected from these networks, and others upgraded for connection. • About 50 customers are connected and 70 have applied, quoted and not connected. Area needs network extension earmarked for 2010/2011 financial year. • BPC covered a maximum distance of 500m radius from the transformer. This was however, being exceeded in certain instances and investment in reinforcement is required to extend electrification. • Connectionsby customers mostly 500m to the low voltage, (that supplies residential houses without any need for a transformer network), enhanced the network growth.

5. Technical Limits • The BPC standard to run a low voltage line without affecting the quality of supply is 500m. • Beyond this limit, a higher voltage line plus a transformer will be required to maintain the quality of supply to the consumer at the end of the line. • Using a water reticulation analogy, think of a transformer as a booster pump and the quality of supply (voltage) as the water pressure.

6. Outsourcing and Costs • Supply network development and customer connection is outsourced to contractors in the private sector. • The rates (prices) used for quoting customers for connections are derived through competitive bidding among pre-qualified contractors every six months. • To ensure consistent quality and to minimise costs, contractors purchase construction material from BPC Stores in Gaborone and Francistown.

7. Outsourcing and Costs 2 • The basic rates used are the same countrywide, e.g. a cost of constructing 100 metres of line is the same in Mmadinare and in Khuis. • To account for the contractors’ transport and setup costs, the basic rates are increased by a Location Factor which increases with the distance from the Gaborone Stores (for locations in the south of the country) and Francistown Stores (for locations in the north of the country).

8. Location Factor

9. Outsourcing and Costs 3 • The cost for connecting individual customer houses (except where a Standard Cost applies) depends on the distance from the low voltage supply network: • Where the customer’s house is near a backbone low voltage supply network (e.g. within fifty (50) metres of the network), the customer only pays for the final connection to the supply network, Customers can opt for either overhead service connection orunderground service. (at phase 26 rates, ABC line is P218.94 per meter provided it is within 500 m radius from the transformer).

10. Outsourcing and Costs 4 • Excavation required for an underground service connection makes it more expensive than an overhead service connection. • Where a customer’s house is not near a backbone low voltage supply network, the customer is quoted the cost of extending the supply network, as well as the service connection. The longer the required extension, the higher the cost. • Sometimes the power poles that customers perceive to be close to one another, carry high voltage wires, requiring connection to a transformer to step down the voltage to a level usable in a house.

11. Outsourcing and Costs 5 • Connecting a new customer to an existing low voltage line that has reached its technical limit results in supply quality (low voltage) problems being experienced. • The customer then has to pay P164.00 per meter for reinforcing supply by running a high voltage line and P56,256.00 for a transformer installation. Subsequently, complaints of high quotations than that of one’s neighbour arise. • In a Standard Cost village, customers within the standard cost area are not exposed to the actual cost of supplying them.

12. Vandalism • Theft of equipment (e.g. circuit breakers) from BPC transformers and kiosks. • Theft of underground cables. • Theft of earth wires from electricity poles.

13. Impact of Vandalism • Stealing equipment and wires meant to protect customers from electricity leakages and faults poses a risk to lives and property. • Theft of live equipment risky to perpetrators themselves. Incidents of deaths and serious injuries recorded in the past for attempting to steal equipment and cables. • The quality of supply is adversely affected as customers often have to be without supply while the cables and equipment are replaced. • The replacement cost of vandalised equipment in a year is approximately P2.5 million.

14. Appeal to Combat Vandalism • For the good of society, members of the public witnessing such behaviour should feel duty bound to report to relevant authorities. • Scrap dealers and yards must play a major role in curbing such acts by desisting from buying equipment, cables and wires that are suspected to be stolen.