The Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (NORED)on Monday signed a debt settlement agreement with NamPower to settle its outstanding debt and ensure that all its accounts are current and up to date.

NORED Head of Corporate Communication and Marketing Simon Lukas in a media statement on Monday said that the institution wanted to inform their stakeholders that their engagement with NamPower on their debt has been concluded.

Last week several southern parts of the country and areas receiving electricity through NORED were plunged into darkness after failing to meet the deadline to settle their outstanding debt to NamPower.

The northern regions affected by the severe power cuts included Oshana, Oshikoto, Omusati, Ohangwena, Kavango East, Kavango West, and Kunene regions.

These entities including some local authorities in the south are said to owe the company over N.dollars 1 billion.

“NORED is pleased to announce that, it has entered into a debt settlement agreement with NamPower and there will be no further suspension of electricity in the regions,” he said.

The settlement agreement follows a meeting by Finance and Public Enterprises Minister Iipumbu Shiimi with NamPower, NORED and other stakeholders last Thursday.

During the meeting, the minister outlined the government’s programme aimed at assisting NamPower in collecting outstanding payments.

The programme will run until the end of August, upon which Shiimi will submit recommendations to the government regarding the matter.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency