Ecocash increases minimum electricity token amount.

It never rains in Zim. It certainly pours. Just as people are trying hard to adjust to the severe economic crisis, Econet has dealt another heavy blow. The minimum electricity amount that one can buy has been increased to 50 rtgs. What this basically entails is that one can only buy electricity tokens starting from 50 rtgs going upwards.

The announcement was recently made and the new tariffs became effective on 28 October 2019. The sad reality is that most people cannot even afford the minimum token price. To add salt to the injury, 50 rtgs will only buy around 12 units which is not enough to last two days for a normal household.

The new tariff has indeed been meet with mixed emotions with most people lambasting the power utility company and Ecocash for their new arrangement. Zesa seems to be implementing measures to try and reduce electricity usage in households by hiking fees. The country is in critical economic shape and power is scarce.

The machinery at Hwange power company is now old and dilapidated. Kariba dam also has extremely low water levels making the generation of power impossible. The huge debt to Eskom is also making it difficult for the country to get more power from outside. This is what most people are calling being between a rock and a hard place.

Of course, it is necessary to use alternative sources of energy such as gas and solar power but these are now costing a fortune. Companies that well solar equipment and gas are also capitalising on the electricity crisis and increasing the price of their products on a daily basis