ZESCO: Improvements to Local Generation will Make Electricity Supply More Consistent

The Senior Manager of ZESCO’s Lusaka Control Centre has welcomed progress made with local power generation, which he says is the key to providing a reliable service to Zambian households and businesses.

Boniface Syasipa made these remarks on Monday to ZESCO’s in-house media. The state-owned company produces about 80% of Zambia’s electricity and is therefore relied upon by millions of people across the country.

Syasipa identified Zambia’s reliance on imports as the principal reason behind ZESCO’s unpredictable service. This dependence increased last year during the severe drought.

However, he is confident about the future: “Now that we have improved local generation, we will be more predictable because of the stability in terms of the local generation. So because of this, customers will notice that there is actually consistency in terms of the time that we are giving them supply”, he said.

Moreover, Syasipa cited some statistics about ZESCO’s newly improved services: households in Lusaka and Central Province can expect 7.4 hours of supply a day, and in Northern and Southern Provinces, over eight hours. He credited ZESCO’s robust investment in local generation for this progress.

As for businesses, ZESCO remains committed to adhering to President Hichilema’s directive to prioritise keeping small businesses running, since they are a vital engine of economic growth. To this end, Syasipa encouraged small businesses to relocate to designated marketplaces in which ZESCO have installed diesel generators, to ensure that the needs of businesses are met.

Prospects for ZESCO’s hydroelectric electricity production over the forthcoming year will remain unclear until the rainy season ends. However, ZESCO’s leadership are confident that they can provide Zambians with a robust and reliable service.