Before the LEC came into existence, the service of providing electricity was under direct control of the Government of Lesotho. A very small coal-fire generating plant was used to supply a handful of domestic consumers in the Maseru West and Old Europa areas, where the foreigners resided. This same plant also supplied the Maseru Administrative center with power.
In 1965 the responsibility shifted to the Public Works government department. In 1966 the idea of establishing a parastatal, which would execute the provision of electricity throughout the country more efficiently, was vigorously debated. Mr. G. K. Herrmann, a German now living in Spain, will always be remembered for his tireless efforts in convincing the government authorities about the need to establish a parastatal,today widely known as the LEC. It was no surprise that he inevitably became the first Managing Director of the Lesotho Electricity Company from 1969 to 1971,when he left the country.
As demand for the electricity increased an agreement was entered into between the Lesotho Government and Eskom of South Africa, to supply Lesotho with electricity. This agreement still stands today.
This arrangement was triggered by an increasing demand for electricity, which could not be satisfied by local facilities.
It also proved much more cost effective to import power from the neighboring country. Today Eskom remains the biggest supplier of electricity in the country. Power from Eskom comes through three intake points: Mabote, Peka and Hendriks Drift.
The Lesotho Electricity Company was established under the Electricity Act No.7 of 1969,which empowers it to generate, transmit, distribute and supply electricity.
It is believed to be one of the first parastatals, if not the first in the country. Today it remains the sole supplier of electricity in Lesotho.
Electricity continued to be generated by coal for a while after the establishment of the Company. There used to be a railway line running in front of the recently built 3-storied LEC office block. Ash was dumped by the rail carriage at the front gate, and was sold to the public at 30c per load.
There was only one 11kV line, which supplied the then Leper Settlement and Lancers gap. It flew over Qoaling and Motimposo but amazingly not a single person in these areas was connected. Today the two villages have 300 and 1 000 consumers respectively.
In the beginning the Company operated with a few selected staff members. For example there were only two meter readers compared to 15 today. These meter readers were messengers as well, but could manage because there were only a few consumers at the time. Originally readings were not processed by the LEC but sent to the Treasury, which issued bills and received payments on behalf of the LEC. There were only two 1.5 ton trucks and 1 panel van belonging to the Company. A tractor was used to load poles and deliver a gang of about 10 people to erect these poles. Today there are 18 gangs, consisting of 10 to 13 people and poles are loaded and unloaded by modern crane trucks.
The Companys responsibilities also included wiring premises, which has since been shifted, to local private electrical contractors. Some of the buildings wired by LEC are The Palace, LesothoBank, Victoria Hotel and the former Holiday Inn Theatre.
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