SORED will be operational this year

NAMPA The establishment of the Southern Electricity Distribution Company (SORED) is expected before the end of the year.The company will distribute electricity in the southern regions of Hardap and //Karas and parts of the Omaheke Region.The Southern Electricity Company (SELCo) distributes power in Keetmanshoop and Karasburg in the //Karas Region while other local authorities in that region buy electricity in bulk from NamPower.The Central North Regional Electricity Distributor (Cenored) supplies electricity to some towns in Omaheke while others buy in bulk from NamPower. Hardap municipalities and village councils also buy from NamPower.Rojas Manyame, the general manager of regulations at the Electricity Control Board (ECB), told Nampa on Thursday that discussions were under way for the establishment of SORED by the local authorities, village councils and regional councils.“There is no chief executive officer or board of directors as yet,” he said.Manyame said role players in the electricity supply industry were becoming more cognisant of the importance of regional electricity distributors, hence the need to accelerate SORED's establishment.“The next step will be the establishment of Central RED,” he said.If established, Central RED will distribute electricity to Windhoek and surrounding areas.There are already Erongo RED, Cenored, and the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Nored).Giving a presentation on the ECB's focus for 2017 at the technical conference by the Association of Electricity Distribution Undertakings in Namibia at Swakopmund, Manyame said they would focus on improving the quality of services and supply of electricity together with the distributors.He said another focus was to ensure that the country generated 100% of its electricity consumption. At the moment 60% is imported.Manyame said the ECB put great emphasis on the maintenance of infrastructure by licence holders who distribute power.His advice to distributors was that they should be proactive to survive the future.He said the future would see more independent power producers and self-generating companies or individuals who might not need a service provider. Licensed electricity distributors would lose business because these independent producers would desert them.“So you need to find ways to ensure that such people will still work with you in the future.”The two-day technical conference discussed various matters regarding power supply in the country.It was attended by representatives of NamPower, Nored, Erongo RED, Siemens, Tank Industries, and United Kingdom-based EBM Electrical Services.

SORED will be operational this year

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-19

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SORED will be operational this year

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-19

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