Government says ZESCO is hoping to end its five-day power blackout which has hit five provinces today, Thursday, November 24th 2016.
Five provinces namely, Northern, Muchinga, Eastern, Luapula and parts of central provinces have had no power since Saturday after a fault on the Kabwe-Pensulo 330KV transmission line.
The line was extensively damaged by suspected lightning which occurred around 13:00 Hours on Saturday.
[pullquote]Most butcheries and homeshad to discard huge amounts of food after it went to waste.[/pullquote]
ZESCO engineers have been working on repairing the damaged lines and Energy Minister David Mabumba who toured the site with Presidential Affairs Minister Freedom Sikazwe is hopeful that repair works could be finished today.
Mr Mabumba said there has been extensive damage to the Zesco Tower structures, including the earth wire and optic fibre conductors.
He estimated that the repair works will cost ZESCO around USD $1.5million.
Meanwhile, the blackout has led to undisclosed waste of perishable items such as food in the affected provinces.
A check in Kasama revealed that most butcheries in the Central Business District and some homes have had to discard huge amounts of food after it went to waste.
A butcher at Evonny Butchery in Kasama’s Location Market said in an interview that meat worth over K4, 000 has gone to waste.
Other businesses such as salons, barbershop and tailoring shops have also recorded huge losses.
This was purely an act of sabotage. How can lightening destroy more than 12 Towers and not in a row but at random. Zesco must be run professionally not like akantemba
These PF Zesco idyots should just spray Doom on the pylons and the power will be restored. Northerners thrive on such nonsense. Remember Lenshina?
I will not comment!
Zesco needs to be unbundled…
and the problems will fly away
Do a damage assessment on peoples properties and businesses and compensate them.
These provinces are ripping what they voted for. God is not happy. More lightening on the lines to these provinces please.
You are a danger to the community and The country. We aren’t ripping of wat we voted for. May God forgive you for your Ignorance……
Haven’t heard anything from ZESCO about how they are preventing a similar event happening.Perhaps the new minister of national guidance will advise!
I am not such a superstitious person but Muchinga, Luapula, Northern and Eastern voted in an identical pattern. Even the part of Central province that has been affected can be bundled to this. Is it an act of the biblical punishment or sabotage? Answer using examples. 40 marks
This is a lesson of voting using the stomach instead of your brains.
ZESCO,ZESCO… while we are reeling from this crisis, could ZESCO tell us if the problem at Mamba which led to increased load shedding has ended?
I WAIT TO SEE WHAT WILL BEFALL OTHER PROVINCES THAT VOTED “WISELY’.
I DO NOT CELEBRATE A PERSON’S DOWNFALL WHATEVER THE CASE, BECAUSE I KNOW MINE WILL SURELY
COME ONE DAY. ON THAT DAY I WILL SURELY REMEMBER WHAT I LAUGHED AT.
yet with 5/10 off the grid we are still being loadshed. ZESCO is full of jokers.
Do not hope be specific please.
Silvia Masebo as minister passed a bill to protect Zesco against litigation in case of damage to private property. Revisit this law.
Naine nadabwa, if 5 provinces are out, why loadshed the remaining 5,where is the excess power meant for blacked out 5 going to, going back to kariba?
Zambia, everything is in shambles…! Nothing is working out…we r a cursed Nation….” cursed from beyond..”
Comment:At least we need to be given updates on progress twice a day.what people need is hope!
ZAMBIAN SCIENTISTS! HELP! Where has lightning struck electricity pylons in Zambia before? Would load shedding have a unknown phenomenon that may have contributed to something critical happening that made the line vulnerable to a lightning strike? You know how PHYSICS works! Switching the high voltage lines on and off, on and off, on and off; in very hot weather! Well whatever effect that has on the power lines, only studies may reveal.
poor Zambian businessmen would rather go down with rotting perishables over their dead bodies instead of selling them cheaply or better still donating them to the needy in hospitals or boarding schools. businessmen my foot!
JUST CALL ANOTHER NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER, & ABRACADABRA ALL WILL BSOLVED & FIXED!
Kaili this is the Rubbish P.F has been telling us whenever they are corrupt & too lazy to put in a proper work shift.
Mwanya!!! Just Pray & dance Dununa reverse dull nation.
The lasting solution the Northern region is the setting up of many small hydro sites, which take shorter time to commission, maximum being 18 months and power is on, unlike the stupidity and corruption surrounding the big hydro projects like Batoka, Lower kafue whose gestation time will be five to seven yrs, during hich load shedding
continues. There are over 50 pitential sites. Small sites also distributes the risks associated with such damages creating power failures to large portin of the country
God gets angry with people that cheat
Why have a birthday cake of a Bible .When want we do is evil ,God will punish you
That’s just a first warning next it not be plylons
Where is protection Zesco gone with Jacob Chilwa