HENRY KAPATA RESPONDS TO MUHABI’S POWER CRISIS STORY
Ministry of Information spokesperson Henry Kapata has responded to concerns raised by The Zambia We Want party spokesperson Muhabi Lungu regarding the current power crisis in the country.
In a Facebook post comment, Kapata acknowledged Lungu’s concerns and provided an update on the government’s efforts to address the issue.
Kapata highlighted that Zambia’s rapidly growing population has led to an increase in demand for power, which has outpaced the country’s installed capacity.
“The assumption that our installed capacity is enough for the population is wrong because we have suppressed demand, the country’s population has increased from 12 million in 2010 to 20 million in 2021 and is projected to reach about 30 million by 2030 meaning the demand for electricity will also increase accordingly”, he said.
He also noted that only 31% of households are currently connected to electricity, leaving 69% without access to the grid.
And to address the power deficit, Kapata said the government has embarked on short-term measures such as importing power, restarting the Ndola Energy Power Plant, and developing a 100MW Solar PV power plant in Chisamba.
“Currently,
power import stands at 188MW with an expected 300MW on completion of the Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, interconnection project. In addition, ZESCO Limited has also clawed back 160MW of power from export contracts”
“In collaboration with Ndola Energy Company Limited (NECL), Government has restarted the 105 MW diesel plant and the Government, through ZESCO is developing the project which is scheduled to be completed in December 2024” he said.
He added that, the government through the Energy Regulations Board has streamlined licensing processes to encourage private sector investment in power generation.
Kapata also outlined medium to long-term projects, including the expansion of renewable energy sources, such as solar and hydropower, and the development of strategic programs like the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which aims to provide sustainable solutions to Zambia’s electricity challenges, with a projected need for additional generation capacity of 6,505 MW by 2026.
“The programme projects a need for additional generation capacity of 6,505 megawatts (MW) by 2026, requiring an estimated investment of USD 5 billion. To meet long-term demand, the
IRP forecasts a total of 23,000 MW by 2050 with a corresponding investment requirement of nearly USD 31 billion” he concluded.
