The Economics Association of Zambia has commended Power Utility Company ZESCO for its proactive stance in managing the projected energy deficit across the sectors.
Dr. Austin Mwange, the Association Vice President said the EAZ acknowledges the systemic effects of drought across the Southern African region as a consequence of climate change effects, resulting in below average rainfall in areas where the Zambezi and the Kafue rivers flow hence impacting power generation capacity negatively.
Dr. Mwange said timely stakeholder engagement is a proactive step ZESCO has taken to enable for predictable business planning and this is a vivid attestation of the lessons learnt during the 2015/2016 energy deficit era.
He said the engagement carried out by the power utility in Lusaka, and Copperbelt provinces will allow for predictable business planning across the industry, thereby enabling players to equip themselves with backup energy supplements.
Dr. Mwange said much as a load management is disruptive to operations of businesses, the approach ZESCO has taken will ensure that effects of predictable outages are managed appropriately.
He added that the openness in information dissemination will curb speculation thereby managing uncertainty better.
Dr. Mwange added that Zambia is on a growth trajectory that entails rising demand for power which is forecast to rise to 3,000 Megawatts by 2021 and by 2030 is expected to climb higher to 3,525 megawatts.
He said there is need to widen additional supply through increased investment in well diversified energy sources and the exponential and sustainable increase in demand for electricity is due to growth in economic activities that the country has been experiencing and will continue to experience.
Dr. Mwange said Zambia therefore has no choice to finding solutions that will provide sustainable, clean and affordable energy supply as the economy continues to grow.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mwange has called for aggressive diversification in energy investment so as to hedge against hydrological risks of over-dependence on water for power generation.
He said Energy bottlenecks vividly signal the need to increase investment in the sector which provides funding opportunities for investment partners.
Dr. Mwange said Zambia is 84% dependent on hydro while the remaining 16% is exposure to Heavy Fuel Oils -HFOs such as coal and geothermal sources.
He has bemoaned the impact the deficit will have on the manufacturing and mining ecosystem especially that these sectors consume over 57% of the grid.
Dr. Mwange has since forecast this deficit as a major contributor of cost push inflationary pressure which will impact private sector pulse and is confident the proactive step taken by ZESCO will help business offset some of the risks posed by unpredictable load management.
He has advised the mining and manufacturing entities to consider investing in power generation facilities to self-sustain their operations thereby easing to ease pressure of the grid in times as these.
Its ignorant to commend Zesco on a job which should their BAU.
Nonsense
Thanks
BB2014,2016
EAZ is praising ZESCO for proper projections when this Habaazoka led EAZ has continually deceived us and failed to project properly the “trajectory” of this economy ….even in this article he says Zambia is on a growth trajectory and yet he should be well aware that loadshedding in itself will further shrink our growth prospects from the already projected poor growth rate of 2.3%
Hooo so EAZ are Zesco United supporters, they commend Lwandamina?
My money in league finals is on Green Eagles, I commend Chiyangi.
There is no way a normal person can support Zesco in anything else than football.
Dr.Mwange and Dr.Habaazoka are ignorant and shame to other economists. We have sun shine 90% of the time in Zambia. What has ZESCO done to promote use of solar power at commercial level. What about other sources of power like wind and gas. As I write , I have a pending zesco connection to my house fully paid for 6 months ago. ZESCO just like EAZ is dysfunctional
What has become of EAZ? Did they also share the loot in the FIC report? Government assured us that there would be no loadshedding despite the rains having ended prematurely but here we are.Infact the Minister of Energy should resign like Amos Chanda
Imagine if I was a subscription paying member I would never let my President spew out nonsense everyday …if you are an economist and you are a member and you are quiet then you are a foooooooool ..sorry I mean educated foooooool!
How do you commend them when they waited till mid year to start rationing power when they knew early enough that the rains would be poor!! If we had started with an hour per day from December last year we could have reached to these 4 hours/ day , half a working day!! Besides where is the additional 300 Megawatts that Maamba had promised to ZESCO in 2016? Where is extra power from Mozambique’s Cahora Bassa which we heard Mozambique wishes to offload cheaply? WE SHOULD ONLY PRAISE THEM WHEN THERE ARE NO POWER CUTS COZ THAT IS WHAT IS EXPECTED OF THEM NOT VICE VERSA!!
Really laughable Association of Foooooools…even a foreign ambassador saw through you!!
The power deficit is a result of political and management incompetence and lack of planning. No need to praise ZESCO for the black outs.
Where have all these ‘songs of praise’ by the EAZ come from in the last few months? I thought this was a professional organization that is meant to use it’s collective ‘brains’ to advise, criticize and offer economic solutions to government. In the current downward climate, all I read about is the EAZ siding with or licking the powers that be.
YELLOW CARD AGAINST CORRUPTION, INCOMPETENCE AND BAD GOVERNANCE
Good morning Zambia,
As concerned citizens, we will not sit and watch while the country is being plunged deep into unprecedented depths of Corruption and abuse of authority of office by a few greedy people.
This June 21st, we are calling on all concerned citizens to join us in the Yellow Card peaceful gathering to be held along the Great East Rd from 14:00hrs to 23:00hrs.
Carry a Yellow Card or put on anything Yellow as a public warning to anyone involved in the looting of public resources.
Zambia is for all of us!
Maiko Zulu
WAKE UP FROM YOUR DOCILITY ZAMBIANS!!!!!
EAZ should not be making comments it does not understand the incompetence and inefficient of ZESCO; and that hydro generation stations are to be designed on the lowest water flow based on many years, that value was known before Kariba dam, Kafue Gorge were made. Now, the generation stations have been overloaded. Talking about lack of water or effects of hydrology or climate change is unacceptable. Zambia has enough water.
The idea of constructing a dam is to store water from wet years to use in dry years but for a long time now these wet years have been very rare and the Kariba Dam has not been filled up. When did you last see the spillway spilling excess water? So climate change is real. As for Itezhitezhi Dam the capacity of the dam is small and has been spillway excess water in some years. There is provision to increase the capacity of the dam but perhaps ZESCO is waiting for a whiteman to tell them to do so. INCREASE THE RESERVOIR CAPACITY NOW ESPECIALLY IN VIEW OF CLIMATE CHANGE!
To read “has been spilling excess water”. The Kariba Dam has not been filling even before the generating capacity was increased. I agree it was now worse with increased gegenerating capacity.
Look at Kariba dam which has been overload by Zambia, 1080MW and Zimbabwe, 1050MW. The original design capacity of Kariba Dam is 1400MW. Now the install capacity is 2300MW. Adding the effects of climate change, it was foolish for Zambia and Zimbabwe to expand beyond the total of 1400MW. Had 900MW been installed at Batoka we could not have been affected much. Part B
Habazoka studied in Russia in a communist country where no markets and efficiency exists.
EAZ should not be making comments it does not understand the incompetence and inefficient of ZESCO; and that hydro generation stations are to be designed on the lowest water flow based on many years, that value was known before Kariba dam, Kafue Gorge were made. Now, the generation stations have been overloaded. Talking about lack of water or effects of hydrology or climate change is unacceptable. Zambia has enough water.
How do you blame climate change when the same change can provide solar energy which can plug the deficit? why do these people bother with school kanshi? to learn how to steal and follow?
IVI NI VIMBUZI VA BANTHU
..and that idyoit Haabazoka or is it Habasnake?
Totally misplaced idyoit, I wonder what EAZ is doing about the destruction of its integrity in the public eyes in sych a very shirt space of time. EAZ like other professional bodies are not supposed to be led by party cadres like Haaba njoka. Compare this with the respected London Economics. That is where EAZ was headed to until this cadre snake took over its leadership. And PF should not make the mistake of trusting this snake which is just lobbying for a government position. The thing is a dunderhead, even Amos Chanda, Antonio Mwanza and tlSunday Chanda are far better, yes even Freedom Sikazwe and Bowman Lusambo.