FAQs

LEWA stands for, Lesotho Electricity and Water Authority. It was established under the Lesotho Electricity Act NO.12 of 2002, as amended.

The Lesotho Electricity and Water Authority (LEWA) regulates the electricity, urban water and sewerage services of the licensees.

In carrying out its mandate, the Authority, amongst other functions, undertakes:

1. Issuance of Licences to regulated entities and potential Investors who may want to enter any of the regulated business segments as prescribed in the LEA Act 2012 as amended;
2. Determination of electricity, urban water and sewerage services tariffs;
3. Setting Quality of Service and Supply Standards (QOSSS) for electricity, urban water and, sewerage services and monitoring of licensees’ compliance to QOSSS; and
4. Resolution of disputes between licence holders and their customers.

The LEWA resolves complaints / queries that have been lodged with it. In short, the subject matter of the complaint must be within a given criteria which are: Licence conditions, the LEA Act 2002 as amended, the electricity and urban water and sewerage sectors Quality of service and supply standards. Furthermore, the complaint must have first been brought to the concerned licencee for resolution first.. This means that customers have to first lodge their complaints with licensees. Only after exhausting all possible remedies by the licensees may they come to  the Authority for intervention.

1. With respect to electricity the Authority regulates generation, transmission, distribution, supply, import and export of electricity and the conditions are outlined in the composite Licence issued to the LEC.
2. With respect to urban water and sewerage services the Authority regulates production, treatment, transmission, distribution and supply of water and the storage of water for purposes of treatment, distribution or onward supply, delivery of water to trunk main pipe lines and the treatment and disposal of sewage. These activities are currently provided by WASCO under a composite licence issued by the Authority.  

Yes, the LEWA has been mandated to regulate prices, but has to do so within the perimeters of its founding legislation. It must ensure that the prices are such that they cover the costs licensees incur when providing service to customers on the one hand and that they are also affordable to consumers on the other. For instance, The Authority has held public consultations every time it received applications by LEC for a tariff review since 2007.

It is the LEWA which sets the QOSSS in Lesotho.. The present QOSSS were approved by the LEWA Board after a consultative process with electricity sector and water sector representatives. The electricity and urban water and sewerage QOSSS are public documents and can be accessed from the website following the above link. All licensed entities are expected to implement the standards.