Zambia: Zambia is struggling with the shortage of power supply due to the drought situation. In line with this, ZESCO has announced that they will start importing power from other nations. The President of the country updated the people about the situation in early March.
The administration has made efforts to manage the power shortage crisis with power rationing. The Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) limited announced loadshedding exercises in the various parts of the country.
The power shortage has affected all sectors of Zambia, including business, industry as power cuts lasted eight hours a day. The lack of power supply affected many small scale businesses that could not afford any alternative energy sources.
The households of the various affected districts have also come forward to register their grievances on the issue. Acknowledging the worsening crisis, ZESCO limited has started importing electricity to supplement the national power supply.
The announcement was made by the officials of the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation on May 1. The organization has started importing electricity to supplement the national power supply. The situation is happening due to the reduced generation due to poor hydrology.
Maumbi explained that the decision was arrived at because the country is currently experiencing limitations in power generation. The drought in the country is making it difficult to generate electricity through hydraulic power.
Hydrolic electricity constitutes a majority of the power supply of Zambia.
“The imported electricity will constitute approximately 20 percent of the total available power for at least 12 months. The power utility will have reduced control over the stability and scheduling of this imported power source,” he said.
Maumbi said ZESCO understands the importance of reliable electricity and regrets any inconvenience these potential disruptions may cause.
“The Corporation remains committed to providing it’s customers with stable and reliable electricity. The Corporation is actively working to address the limitations in domestic power generation and will continue to update customers on any developments,” said Mr Maumbi.