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Copperbelt Energy Corporation is making progress on the 136MWp second phase of the Itimpi solar PV plant, developing what would be Zambia’s first wind plant and expanding interconnection capacity with Democratic Republic of Congo.

Solarcentury Africa and Zambia’s state-owned Industrial Development Corporation have signed an agreement to co-develop the Fig Tree commercial and industrial (C&I) power plant, for which IDC will be the primary offtaker, writes Marc Howard in Cape Town.

The Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa reservoir is just 20% full, after a prolonged drought. Low water levels threaten to further reduce generation output at the 2.1GW hydroelectric plant, which supplies over 1GW to neighbouring South Africa and additional output to other Southern African Power Pool (Sapp) countries including Zimbabwe and, soon, Malawi.

A further $553m pledge has boosted the outgoing Biden administration’s commitments to the Lobito Corridor and adjacent projects to over $4bn. This points to a significant revitalisation of US ties with African countries – which may be too little, too late, although the Lobito project is unlikely to be halted by a more mercantilist Trump administration.

Zimbabwe and Zambia say work has started to update feasibility studies on the $5bn Batoka Gorge hydroelectric power (HEP) scheme on the Zambezi River. Planned since 1972, initial studies on the scheme were carried out in the 1990s, with financial support from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Six years of debts owed by Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) to Zesco are a heavy burden on the utility. Figures seen by African Energy suggest the amount is much larger than previously estimated and may not be repaid soon.

Prolonged drought has profoundly impacted hydroelectric power-dependent Zambia. The government is enacting reforms to mitigate the crisis, most significantly increasing tariffs in October on an emergency basis – a move which could pave the way for permanent cost-reflective tariffs. Developers are also advancing a solar PV pipeline that would see installed capacity increase tenfold by 2028. This informs an optimism from some players, such as private utility CEC, over the power sector’s longer-term prospects, writes Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka.

In contrast to the existing Kenya-Tanzania line, and with work on the Tanzanian side of the Zambia-Tanzania line expected to be completed by mid-2026, the stalled Zambian component of the ZTK interconnector remains far behind schedule – much to the frustration of President Hakainde Hichilema. But new funding from the World Bank Group, the UK and EU is expected to see a quick project restart, write Marc Howard and Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka.

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema is likely to replace the well-thought-of head of Zesco Victor Mapani despite the fact that he is a supporter of the president and has achieved important successes during his tenure. It is a political decision.

First Quantum Minerals is raising production at its Kansanshi copper mine in Zambia’s North Western Province, leading to higher electricity demand. With state utility Zesco unable to step in with additional power, the Canadian miner has turned to IPPs and power traders on the Southern African Power Pool.

Solarcentury Africa’s financial close of the Gerus solar IPP – the Southern African Power Pool’s first pure merchant play in Namibia – will be followed by three more IPPs on the same model across the region. The milestone development points the way to a new mode of power project development provided utilities and regulators can keep up.

Zambia’s Energy Regulation Board has approved drastic measures to reduce loadshedding, including a significant ‘temporary’ increase in retail tariffs, use of the national fuel reserve and emergency funds, and greater power imports from the Southern African Power Pool.

An internal report by Zambia’s Meteorological Department seen by African Energy has warned that a plan to take water from the Luapula river in the north and pump it to the hydroelectric plants on the Kafue river in the south could cause severe harm to the ecosystem.

Zambia’s Energy Regulation Board (ERB) is due to decide on 11 October whether to raise electricity prices by 56% in order to pay for more power imports from neighbouring countries. Key stakeholders are arguing once again in favour of a sharp increase in rates, just weeks after a similar plan was abandoned. Due to severe droughts, Zambia is experiencing one of the worst power outages in its history, with households having rolling power blackouts of up to three consecutive days.

The Zambian government has withdrawn plans to set up a state-owned company to control at least 30% of the output of projects focused on copper, cobalt, lithium and other critical minerals, but lobbying by industry has seen the plan put on ice.