Your dream is finally becoming a reality: you have just acquired a new piece of land to build your home. Unless you want to go fully off-grid 🤩, among the many steps that await you before enjoying your new home is electricity supply from CEB and the water supply from CWA.

Construction is already a very pricey operation and if your contractor does not have access to water and power while on site, costs for water tankers and generator rental / fuel can quickly add up and represent a significant budget.

This is why you need to start your applications as early as possible. Zoom in on the stages of this essential process.

The electrical connection (CEB)

To apply for an electricity supply, you should fill in the form available on the Central Electricity Board’s website or visit the nearest sub-office and go to the customer care desk.

Visit this link to access the Customer Service online portal. You will even be able to pay your bills within the same portal later on.

Create an account and follow the steps. It is very straightforward. Similarly, if you are opting for the offline application, fill in the form you will be provided with and follow the instructions provided by the officer. You will then receive your specific Business Partner (BP) Number, which you will use whenever you contact the CEB.

After you submit the application, a CEB technical officer will visit your proposed site for electrification within 7 working days of the application.

If it is found that your home is too far away from the Low Voltage Network, the CEB will need to work out an estimate of the network extension project (number of poles required and other considerations which will depend on the distance between your house and the network). You will need to bear the cost of this estimate and those of the actual extension project. As you may guess, the estimate will vary greatly on a case to case basis. This can cost anything between a few thousands to a couple tens of thousands rupees.

You can then either elect to pay the full cost of the extension upfront and receive a gradual refund on your electricity bills over a period of 4 years or only pay half of the costs and not benefit from any refund. You may also be eligible to a financial assistance if you can prove that you cannot afford the works (separate application).

After completion of the network extension or more generally if you already are within the minimum distance from the network, and provided your load request is reasonable, the Technical Officer will inform you of the works to be carried out by your qualified electrician.

Your qualified electrician will need to install a Residual Current Device (RCD). Once those wiring works are completed, a technical officer from the CEB will revisit your site within 7 days. They will ensure that the installation complies with the required standards and also verify the quality of the work.

If the wiring work complies with the CEB required standards, you will then proceed with payment of fees.

Processing fees are no longer applicable but there is a connection fee of Rs 1500 and a security deposit of Rs 1,200 for three-phase systems.

Once all payments are made, you should expect to obtain access to the electricity network within 10 working days.

Documents you will need to present for Residential Supply

• National Identity Card of the applicant or Passport ID.
• A copy of the applicant’s title deed or a lease agreement in other instances.
• Building & Land Use Permit for the said premises, wherever applicable.
• A list of declared electrical appliances to be connected in Watts (W) or Kilowatts (kW).

If you are occupying the premises as a tenant, you will have to furnish the authorisation of your landlord together with a copy of the latter’s National Identity Card and Title Deed.

The water supply (CWA)

Applicants should visit the Central Water Authority Mauritius (CWA) office near them and collect the application form from the front desk or use this online system here.

The online system will let you email your application directly to the CWA or will generate a print version which you can print, sign and send via post.

Submit the completed form along with the required documents (listed below) to be verified by a staff at the customer care office. The officer in charge of your application may ask a few questions to establish the feasibility of the project.

You will then pay the processing fees of Rs 500 and collect your receipt.

After logging your application, inspectors from the CWA will visit your premise to determine the estimated cost of materials needed from the main water pipe.

Only the first 7 metres are provided complimentarily. After this, you will have to pay Rs 2,000 for the next 7 metres and Rs 75 for each additional metre. These figures will be higher if there needs to be repairs to the road and surroundings after the intervention.

The next step is to pay the associated fees and obtain your receipt.

Following this, the CWA will move on with site intervention, meter installation and any other works to make sure you can access water within 15 working days.

Documents you will need to present for Residential Supply

• National Identity Card of the applicant or Passport ID.
• A copy of the applicant’s title deed, rent book or a lease agreement in other instances.
• A Site Plan / Location Plan.
• Existing water supply details, where applicable.
• Building & Land Use Permit for the said premises, wherever applicable.
• A list of declared electrical appliances to be connected in Watts (W) or Kilowatts (kW).

Do you think it is possible to go fully off-grid in Mauritius with rainwater harvesting and solar power? Are you planning to? Let us know below!

References:

Apply for Electricity Connection, Apply for a New Supply (CWA), ceb.mu, cwa.govmu.org, edbmauritius.org

We try to ensure that the information on this site is correct, but do not give any warranty as to its accuracy. Any suggestion on this site is merely for educational and inspirational purposes.  If you chose to undertake a project, home alteration or any other suggestion found on these pages, you will be doing so at your own risk and your own responsibility. Consequently, the Company does not accept any liability for errors, omissions and negligent acts.