Zambia cost-of-service study faces obstruction and delay

Zesco and senior officials are determined to press ahead with tariff increases despite the stalling of a cost-of-service study that was intended to form the basis of a new multi-year tariff determination. Negotiations have been under way since last year with large consumers, mostly mines, which are still in the process of agreeing an interim tariff. However, failure to complete the study could have implications for negotiations with the miners, who have used Zesco’s governance and performance to resist tariff increases in the past.