DEMAND FOR SOLAR IN RURAL AREAS

Tue, 29 Aug 2017 13:02:46 +0000

By Buumba Chimbulu

MUHANYA Solar Limited has encouraged private companies to invest into the solar industry and take the services to rural areas where the demand is high.

Company managing director, Geoffrey Kaila, explained that people from rural areas where demand for solar energy was high were willing to pay for the commodity once offered to them. Mr. Kaila said his company had received overwhelming responses for the rural areas, such as Sinda in Eastern Province, where it was providing services.

“We would encourage more privately owned companies to venture into solar, we want people to believe in the technology because it is only us and we cannot reach everywhere in the country,

“So the more people begin to experience the technology, the more confidence the people will be in solar and the more business for everybody who will be in the industry,” he said.

Mr. Kaila in an interview also encouraged companies not to be scared of competition as it promoted innovation.

He said companies would not be able to tell whether or not their services were appreciated without competition.

“So competition is good because it will make us become innovative. As technology changes, you will have to re-invent yourself so that you offer what others are not offering,” he said. Mr. Kaila also said his company in Sinda was implementing “Pay As you Go” way of selling electricity to the people which allowed them to only buy the commodity when they needed it.

He said people in Sinda were accessing up to 300 watts of electricity for domestic use and up to 500 watts for bigger organisations such as churches and clinics.

“The experience has been overwhelming contrary to some sections of the media that people in rural areas will struggle to buy electricity from a privately run power station.  The performance and the demand from rural areas has been overwhelming, they buy electricity all the time so they are able to afford it,” Mr Kaila said.