Power to Kapekaha

The Erongo Regional Electricity Distributor, commonly known as Erongo RED, recently collaborated with the governor's office to connect 107 houses in Kapekaha, Omaruru, with electricity.

Living up to its mandate to bring, distribute and supply safe, reliable, sustainable, and accessible electricity to the residents and businesses, Erongo RED has, to date, electrified over 2 000 houses in rural and peri-urban areas.

According to Erongo RED CEO Immanuel !Hanabeb, the Kapekaha electrification project is very special. "It is unique in the sense that all the design work, planning, and project management were done in-house by our very own project engineers, electricians, and metering electricians. To minimize cost, given the limited budget available to electrify the 107 houses, Erongo RED requested the Kapekaha community to do all trenches for the cabling. The community responded positively to the request and completed all trenches to the required standard. In this way, we were able to connect all the houses."

Regarding future electrification projects, !Hanabeb said Erongo RED has identified localities such as Upukos (60 houses), Corner Shop (35), and Topnaars (119). "These areas will be considered once funds are available.

"We have a Erongo RED Electricity Master Plan (EREMP). This plan will provide a framework to coordinate all rural and peri-urban electrification and network extension projects. Once sufficient funds are available, we will consider bringing electricity to parts of Hakahana that are still not yet electrified. Equally, we should also remember that other areas within the Erongo region also need electricity and we also need to assist them."

A member of the Erongo RED board of directors, Michael Skini said that the regional electricity distributor had invested close to N$30 million to bring electricity to peri-urban and rural households. "We also installed prepaid meters for free in all the houses that were electrified. Clearly, we can see Erongo RED’s commitment to empowering members of our community so that they have access to electricity."

Skini congratulated the staff for work well done. "Despite the current economic climate, you and your team were able to bring a smile to not only the faces of 107 homeowners, but to their families as well. Kids can now watch their beloved shows, and mothers do not have to get worried about walking long distances to fetch firewood. So when we say power to the people, we mean it. We empower our communities by bringing electricity to them."

Councillor Benitha Imbamba, who represented Erongo governor Neville Andre, applauded Erongo RED for taking the lead in providing the most important component for the social-economic development of the people, which is electricity. "Rural electrification needs to be intensified to ensure a greater number of participants in this most extraordinary commodity, and the push from behind is needed to expedite accessibility to electricity. We need to find other complementary initiatives to ensure that we provide access to electricity to our communities that do not have access already."

Imbamba highlighted that electricity is the engine for economic growth and development, especially this region. "We are all aware that most of our communities in the region, especially in rural and peri-urban areas, do not have access to electricity for lighting, cooking, and heating. I believe that everyone should have access to sustainable electricity as to improve their lives and so that children can have access to a better educational environment."

She also appealed to all beneficiaries to take care of the electricity infrastructure. "Please utilize electricity wisely and efficiently and refrain from illegal activities such as bypassing the meters and illegal connections."

[email protected]