The Minister of Energy and Dam, Peter Marcelo - Courtesy

The Minister of Energy and Dams has attributed the expensive rates of electric power in Juba to the depreciation of the South Sudanese pound against the US dollar.

Minister Peter Marcelo made the remarks on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, when he appeared before the national legislature to answer quarries related to his docket.

He says he can’t ‘afford electricity’ because he has no purchasing power.

Lawmaker Murad Mesika MP asked “Mr. Minister, is the electricity (JEDCO) in Juba town a government institution or private institution?

Meanwhile, MP Peter Gatkuoth is concerned about why JEDCO has been rationing power across the city.

“The cutting off of the electricity is rampant, like today in Jebel, tomorrow maybe Hai Suara, and next tomorrow in Gudele, what’s the problem?

In his response, Energy and Dams Minister Peter Marcelo blame the situation on the inflation of the dollar-to-pound exchange rate.

“The issue is our pound is depreciating and the power purchasing is very poor,

“Come and ask me again about my salary, as a Minister I  am unable to pay for electricity, it’s a luxury for me because my salary will not allow me, am not even talking about it,” he said.

Minister Marcelo said he earns too little salary to afford electricity in his house.

“I don’t even have money to buy electricity because I have a low salary, and if I want to complain now, my honourable MPs don’t allow me to complain because you will say I have to complain to the President or Minister of Finance,

“My salary is poor, my power to purchase is very poor, and I cannot buy electricity. They have to increase my salary,” he added.

On December 18, 2013, the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund had earlier approved a grant of USD 26 million to finance the project.

This amount was used to fund the whole scope of the project which included recruitment of the project supervision and management consultant and distribution systems construction contractor.

The current supplementary loan was approved to cover the budget deficit of the total project.

So far, the power project in Juba consists of the construction of a 145-kilometre line of 33 kilovolts and 370 kilometres of 415 by 230-volt lines as well as installed 195 transformer stations and 20,000 prepaid meters for connecting 20,000 new customers.

Despite the efforts, the country has the lowest energy consumption rate in Africa and the highest cost of producing energy.