Zambia seeks power imports for key mining sector
Zambia's State-owned electricity utility Zesco said on Monday it is seeking to import power to avert an energy deficit that could affect output in Africa's second-largest copper producer.
The southern African country generates 86% of its electricity from hydropower stations. Power generation has been hit by a severe drought induced by El Nino - a weather phenomenon resulting from the abnormal warming of the waters in the eastern Pacific, which raises temperatures globally.
As a result, Zambia expects a power generation deficit of 700 megawatts this year, Zesco said in a statement.
"We are negotiating additional electricity imports that will be strategically allocated to crucial sectors, including mining, agriculture, and manufacturing to support economic stability and growth," Zesco said. It did not give details of how much power it seeks to import.
Last week, Zesco warned mining companies there may be fluctuations in power supply due to the reduced generation capacity, raising concern over the country's copper output.
Zambia's copper output declined to about 698,000 tons in 2023 from 763,000 tons the prior year, according to the country's mining chamber.
The potential risk to copper production from the African nation comes at a time when the market is already concerned about tightening global supplies constraining refined production of the metal, which is used in power and construction industries.
Comments
Research Reports
Latest Multimedia
Showroom
Rentech provides renewable energy products and services to the local and selected African markets. Supplying inverters, lithium and lead-acid...
VISIT SHOWROOM
AxFlow AQS Liquid Transfer (Pty) Ltd is an Importer and Distributor of Pumps in Southern Africa
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
