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Herald Reporter
There was chaos today at Zesa Holdings’ Wynne Street Branch as hundreds of people thronged the outlet to purchase the monthly 200 units of supposedly lower priced electricity under the new tariff regime.

This comes after Zesa announced that the monthly 200 units of electricity for each household meter were enough for an average family before the very expensive tariff for extra units kicks in.  However, many consumers are still confused, worried and others angry as they queued to purchase electricity today.

Zesa customers wait their turn to be served

A visit to the offices this afternoon revealed that there were winding queues of people who tried to buy the cheaper electricity units. This was also triggered by the fact that most people failed to purchase electricity from vendors, supermarkets and other platforms which were not working.

The only option was to visit the Zesa Holdings banking halls were only cash and swipe cards were being accepted. Others were of the view that the only way to purchase the cheaper units of electricity was on the first or second day of the month. Many kettles are rated at 1 kilowatt and so burn a unit an hour, although a 9 watt LED lamp, the brightest in most households, can burn continuously for 111 hours with one unit.

Some of the Zesa customers gave up and left without being served

The first 50 units, what Zesa calls its “lifeline tariff rate”, are sold for 41c each, with that block totalling $20,50.  As Zesa notes, this minimum is almost what is needed to keep five LED bulbs burning part of the night plus do a reasonable amount of cooking on a two-plate cooker, although even then, consumers will have to manage the stove carefully, turning food down to simmer the second it starts boiling.

The next 150 units are 91c each, almost 10 times as much, for a total of $136,50.  The two blocks together come to $157 a month.
This total of 200 units goes beyond lifeline, allowing a family to make several pots of tea using a kettle, heat water, iron clothes and do more imaginative cooking on a bigger stove.