ZESCO has announced plans to deliver a more reliable and consistent energy supply during the scheduled load shedding hours starting Wednesday, following the full resumption of operations at Maamba Energy on Tuesday evening.
During a media briefing in Lusaka, Transmission Operations and Trade Director Justin Loongo stated that ZESCO has secured a guaranteed 400 megawatts of power imports during off-peak and standard hours. However, he cautioned that “during peak periods, availability will dictate inputs, as all countries prefer to rely on domestic power.”
In conjunction with these developments, ZESCO has submitted a new application to the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) for an emergency tariff adjustment.
Fitzpatrick Kapepe, ZESCO’s Head of Business Development, indicated that the utility company is proposing to reduce tariffs for customers consuming below 200 units. Kapepe explained, “We propose to cut tariffs for the first 200 units. Currently, a customer pays 44 Kwacha for the first 100 kWh; we suggest lowering this to 35 Kwacha, which represents a 20% reduction.”
Customers consuming between 100 and 200 kWh will also experience notable decreases in their bills. Kapepe emphasized that the aim of these resubmitted emergency tariffs is to provide relief to low-income earners.
