Photo Credit| Ministry of Finance and Planning

The Ministerial High-Level Committee on Economic Reforms has directed customs officials at Nimule to release Heavy Fuel Oil belonging to EZRA for use at its Juba power plant.

The directive was issued on Thursday during an extraordinary meeting in Juba focused on electricity generation and distribution in the capital, including EZRA’s request for an exemption on Heavy Fuel Oil and the implementation of a presidential order to reduce electricity tariffs.

Water Resources and Irrigation Minister James Mawich Makuach, the committee’s Rapporteur, said discussions centred on EZRA’s fuel request and the company’s role in electricity generation.

“The discussion centered on exemption of the heavy fuel oil that belongs to the power plant of EZRA,” Mawich said.

He said the committee had resolved to establish a technical committee to assess the matter and work with the Ministry of Energy and Dams.

“We have discussed lately and we have also resolved to form a technical committee that will be working on the modality of the work,” he said.

Mawich said the committee also reviewed the ownership structure of Juba Electricity Distribution Company, with the government holding 60 percent and the private company 40 percent.

“We have also discussed on the percentages that are also 60% for the government and 40% of the company,” he said.

The committee also reviewed the implementation of the presidential order on reducing electricity tariffs.

“We have also discussed the power tariff reduction based on the presidential order. The meeting was very fruitful,” Mawich said.

He said the technical team would analyse EZRA’s report and work with the Ministry of Energy and Dams to assess electricity generation and distribution in Juba.

Mawich said customs officials at Nimule had been specifically instructed to release EZRA’s Heavy Fuel Oil.

“We have also directed our customs services in Nimule to release the heavy fuel oil that belongs to EZRA for the Juba city power, so that we need to use the power in the city,” he said.

The committee also called on commercial trucks operating alongside EZRA to comply with government directives.

The technical team is expected to report back to the High-Level Committee with recommendations as authorities seek to maintain electricity supply and implement measures aimed at reducing power costs for consumers in Juba.