The Lesotho Electricity Company (Pty) Ltd (LEC) is wholly owned by the Government of Lesotho (GoL). It has been registered in terms of the Companies Act of 1967 (as amended) and established in 2006 in terms of the LEC (Pty) Ltd Establishing and Vesting Act 2006. The assets, liabilities, rights and obligations of the former Lesotho Electricity Corporation were vested in the company. Previously as a Corporation, LEC was established in 1969 in terms of the Electricity Act of 1967 and the Electricity Regulations of 1970. The company assumes a separate legal persona, and can sue or be sued in its own right. It is licenced to operate under the Lesotho Electricity Authority Act of 2002, as amended.

LEC 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. It was subsequently issued with a Composite License in terms of Section 50 of the Lesotho Electricity Authority Act of 2002, to transmit, distribute and supply electricity. It therefore has an obligation, in terms of the license, to supply power to all customers who are within its service territory. It is however, authorized to supply electricity throughout the country, even beyond the LEC service territory. The service territory is defined as the area around 3.5km of the existing distribution network. It is also responsible for economic procurement of power for its customers.

LEC facilitates the connection of new customers to the electricity grid, through their individual funding or under the Government’s rural electrification roll-out programme. The company is also the sole custodian of the electricity grid and has the mandate to sustainably manage the grid and associated assets. It performs these functions in order to provide reliable, sustainable, affordable and quality electricity supply to customers.