P150m Smart Meters tender exposes BPC rot

The controversial Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) Smart Electricity meters tender has exposed deep-rooted corruption within the entity, especially in the procurement space.Investigations by Botswana Guardian have uncovered that following the awarding of Tender No.7392-25-01 for the Supply of Smart Electricity Meters, the BPC top brass went behind the scenes and changed the allocation scope after the cooling-off period. Impeccable sources revealed that this is not the first time that the BPC leadership has altered tenders a trend that always compromises service delivery and has most projects collapse.In the current situation, one of the companies that was awarded the tender, Hope Tee Energy (SA) (Pty) Ltd and Hope Tee Energy Botswana (Pty) Ltd JV (“Hope Tee”), has formally objected to, and requested a review of, the award and allocation under Tender No. 7392-25-01 for the supply of smart electricity meters.Hope Tee was recognised as one of the successful bidders. According to the company, having reviewed the award notification, it has serious and legitimate concerns regarding the allocation methodology, the basis on which pricing was evaluated, and the extent to which local industrial participation, Botswana- based manufacturing, and long-term economic development were recognised in the final allocation.In a confidential letter addressed to the Chief Executive Officer of BPC, Hope Tee requested that Botswana Power Corporation: review the allocation methodology; disclose the rationale used in determining the allocation percentages; confirm whether an Abnormally Low Tender assessment was undertaken; reconsider the allocation awarded to Hope Tee; and ensure that the procurement objectives of fairness, competitiveness and local economic development have been achieved.Documents show that in terms of the award notification for Single Phase Meter category: Bidder Allocation- Hexing got 70 percent of the work; Tronica JV 20 percent; Energy Integrated JV 6 percent; and Hope Tee JV 4 percent. For the Three-Phase Meter category: Hexing was awarded 70 percent of the work ; Tronica JV 20 percent; and Hope Tee JV 10 percent.“It must be mentioned that allocation of a mere 4 percent to Hope Tee, the only bidder with an existing manufacturing presence in Botswana, while awarding 70 percent to a foreign entity, represents a significant misalignment with the nation's strategic goals of localisation, industrialisation, and sustainable economic growth,” the letter dated August 2nd 2026, reads.Hope Tee submits that the allocation percentages appear disproportionate, with no clear explanation provided as to the methodology used to determine the respective allocations.It is unclear, according to the letter: why one supplier received 70 percent of the contract; why Hope Tee was limited to only 4 percent; whether allocation was linked to evaluation scores; whether supply chain resilience was considered; whether local manufacturing capability was evaluated.BPC has been challenged to disclose the methodology, evaluation criteria, and allocation rationale that resulted in the award distribution, including the basis for assigning Hope Tee only 4 percent in the relevant category.Sources close to the issues surrounding the tender have questioned the material pricing differential, which they say raises legitimate procurement questions as to whether the pricing is commercially sustainable while fully complying with the technical specification, warranty obligations, lifecycle support requirements, and contractual deliverables.“This tender has been marred by controversy from the onset and has been largely reported. It was initially discussed that the tender should be divided equally among the considered bidders.The bidders were to be divided into regions with one taking the north, another taking the south, one taking the central region and the other taking over Kgalagadi,” said a source at BPC.“You cannot introduce percentages after a cooling-off period. This was supposed to have been introduced before so that when there is a query, then it can be lodged before the allocation of the tender,” added the source.The tender was initially designed to be awarded to a single bidder, but it was subjected to several changes over time. It was to be awarded to a manufacturer who was to supply the Smart meters. BPC records show that initially the tender was estimated at P200 million but was later reduced to P150 million due to financial constraints.Highly placed sources at BPC have revealed that this is just the tip of the iceberg. They argue that the rot at BPC has been there as people are being paid to award to favourite bidders and there is insider trading. Information gathered by this publication has revealed that the Smart Electricity Meters are one of the biggest scandals the corporation finds itself in.Botswana Guardian has established that sometimes last year about 5000 Smart Meters were condemned as they were faulty. It is alleged that instead of them being returned, an instruction was made that they continue to be used. Smart metering, according to information obtained, has been the biggest bleeder of BPC, as this is where revenue has been lost.“The issue of Smart Meters is not an easy one. Even for the workers who have to service or install them. Sometimes we put customers at risk because we sometimes bypass electricity since we have to serve the consumer and restore electricity, but the Smart Meter will be giving us problems and not working properly,” said a technician within the Maintenance Department.This publication can reveal that a Multimillion-Pula project called Load Curtailment, designed to integrate Smart Meters into the Smart Grid, collapsed because the Meters could not pair with the systems.This initiative contractually caps or reduces the maximum power capacity provided to domestic and small business customers during periods of high demand or generation shortages.This was supposed to assist when there is load-shedding. The focus was on geysers, as they consume a lot of electricity, and they were to be controlled remotely by the BPC.The pilot projects which were done at various Estates have failed, and the Sub-Stations remain idle. Records show that the project was done at Electrical Court, Phakalane, and Mogoditshane.It has since emerged that the Data Concentrators and other equipment were dumped at Electrical Court in Gaborone but would later be moved to NCC. It is estimated that the failed project cost BPC P25 million.BPC had, at some point, according to records, had a contractual dispute with a local telecommunication company, which it was using it sim-cards for the project.“That project failed because after having loaded everything, then monitoring is ongoing when there is loadshedding, then power goes off, it is back to square one. Then you will have to do everything manually at the Data Concentrator, restore everything,” a technician said.At press time, BPC had not responded to a questionnaire sent to them.

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P150m Smart Meters tender exposes BPC rot