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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
THE continued usage of banned incandescent bulbs is costing the country about 60 megawatts of electricity annually, enough to start a new power generation company.

Government banned the usage of incandescent bulbs in 2017 yet members of the public continue to use them as they are available in the market.

The bulbs were banned following the enactment of Statutory Instrument 21 of 2017 and energy consumers were encouraged to adopt energy servers.

The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) said incandescent bulbs produce 95 percent heat and five percent of light.
Zera has revealed that members of the public continue to use the banned bulbs.

Speaking during Zera’s 10-year anniversary celebrations at the recently ended 62 edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), Zera chief executive officer Mr Edington Mazambani said the regulatory authority was having difficulties in enforcing the ban on the high energy consuming bulb.

“We can save up to 60MW if members of the public stopped using the banned incandescent bulb and 60MW that is just a new power station,” said Mr Mazambani.

He said members of the public continue to use the banned bulb because it was cheaper than energy savers.

“However, what they do not understand is that it is more costly as it consumes more power than the energy savers. It also does not last longer than the energy savers. The challenge we have with retailers is that the fines levied against them are too low hence they continue to sell it in their shops,” he said.

Mr Mazambani said there is also a need for mindset change with regards to energy savers.

Minister Soda Zhemu

“The other thing is the cultural aspect, to some people energy savers do not constitute bulbs. The quality of the new light is important, most people reject the energy savers, saying they are not bright enough,” said Mr Mazambani.

Energy and Power Development Minister Zhemu Soda said there is a need for the public to use energy savers.

“Zera is actually spearheading the use of efficient bulbs. The intention is to save the available energy. The statistics indicate that once everybody complies with the issue of the usage of efficient bulbs, we should be able to recover about 60MW of electricity,” said Minister Soda. – @nqotshili