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The Zambian government has set up working group led by the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Energy to speed up exploration efforts in areas close to Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) is aiming to take advantage of the improved operating environment since President Hakainde Hichilema took office in August 2021 to meet growing power demand from mining sector.

As part of efforts to address a shortage of power supply, the Zambian government is to support a revamp of the 110MW thermal-powered Ndola Energy Company on the Copperbelt.

Energy leasing firm Solarise Africa (Solarise) has secured debt finance from a group of investors led by the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI), which it will use to grow its commercial and industrial (C&I) business in Africa.

Zesco chairman Vickson Ncube has said achieving cost- reflective tariffs (CRTs) should not be done at the expense of making electricity too expensive for key groups such as copper miners and ordinary consumers.

Copper miners have called on the government to delay a planned reintroduction of import duties on fuel, saying it would increase costs at a time when the industry is already grappling with disruptions in the global supply chain caused by the Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Southern Africa leaders have made a joint appeal at COP27 for nearly $20bn from investors to complete electricity transmission interconnectors and fund new renewable energy projects, in part to increase energy capacity in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

State owned power utility Eskom has signed commercial lease agreements with four independent power producers (IPPs) for land use at two of its coal power stations in Mpumalanga, in a plan to grow renewable energy capacity by the private sector.

Growing electricity demand, chiefly in booming Democratic Republic of Congo mines, is expected to underpin Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC)’s recovery after a tumultuous period . But the sluggish performance at the debt-laden Konkola Copper Mines and Mopani Copper Mines threatens CEC’s resurgence.

Production at the Indeni refinery is due to resume in December, after the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) approved a licence for Indeni Petroleum Refinery Company to become an oil marketing company.

An imminent increase in pump prices is expected, with the Zambian government planning to reinstate value-added tax (VAT) and excise duty from 1 October in an effort to make prices more closely aligned with market realities.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s 38-month extended credit facility (ECF) deal, approved on 31 August, gives priority to “optimising and strategically divesting” state utility Zesco’s operating assets from 2023, as a key element in reforms to the electricity supply industry.

Zambia has, in the past 12 months – and with a new International Monetary Fund facility now in place – sought to reform petroleum trading, to help reduce the government’s liabilities, including some $500m in arrears to fuel suppliers, and ensure pump prices becomes more responsive to market dynamics.

Price hikes are expected to follow Zambia’s $1.3bn IMF bailout package, which should help to consolidate economic gains made in the last year. But further reform, including the divestment of state utility Zesco’s operating assets, is causing some trepidation among Zambians.

The government has responded to a long-awaited report on electricity tariffs by rejecting some key recommendations, notably the consultants’ call to move to cost-reflective tariffs by raising prices for residential customers while reducing costs for businesses, including mining companies, writes Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka.