Windhoek: Producer prices for electricity generation, transmission, and distribution saw a significant annual decline of 14.2% in the first quarter of 2026, as reported by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) in a recent bulletin. The index, which is set against a base of 100 from June 2024, recorded 85.8 points, showing no change from the previous quarter.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the NSA identified this annual decline as one of two key developments during the quarter, with the other being quarterly pressure in the mining and quarrying sector. The electricity producer price index measures the pricing received by producers at the wholesale level, excluding taxes, transport costs, and value-added tax. Despite the decline in producer prices, the NSA clarified that this does not automatically lead to lower tariffs for consumers, as retail electricity pricing is regulated differently.

The agency also reported an overall increase in the producer price index by 2.7% year-on-year for the first quarter of 2026. This rise was driven by a 7.6% annual increase in mining and quarrying and a 2.4% rise in manufacturing. However, on a quarterly basis, the overall index fell by 1.7%.

In the water sector, collection, treatment, and supply recorded a year-on-year decline of 1.4% and a quarter-on-quarter drop of 0.5%, reaching 99.6 index points compared to 101.1 in the same quarter of the previous year. The NSA attributed the overall quarterly decline mainly to decreases in mining, quarrying, and water-related activities.

Manufacturing saw a slight quarterly increase of 0.3% and an annual rise of 2.4%. Onshore fish processing led annual increases with a 70.7% rise, followed by meat processing at 9.8% and non-alcoholic beverages at 5.1%, as noted by the agency.